A Complicated Game of Cat and Mouse
by Writers4All
Summary: Alex visibly swallowed. Why was this man even allowed to foster children? What should he say? He had handled missions before without problem, but this wasn't a mission. This was his life. Alex Rider finds out that life after MI6 may be more than he can handle. Luckily, K-Unit's there to help - undercover, of course. Set after Scorpia Rising.
1. Make It Out Alive

**A Complicated Game Of Cat And Mouse**

**Co-Authored by Writer With Sprite and Torn Apart Paper Dinosaur**

Notes: This is authored by Torn Apart Paper Dinosaur and by Writer With Sprite. We would like to take the time to thank Jayden95, NightmareWorld and her sister, and Rainstripe for all of their help. Thanks for reading.

Disclaimer: We do not own Alex Rider in any way, shape or form. We do own the unique ideas to this story and the unique characters. Monotaro's name and character belongs to Writer With Sprite.

**CHAPTER ONE**

Alex Rider huddled in his blue, worn, threadbare blanket. He was exhausted and it was only day one of the rest of his life after MI6. He knew that it was going to be tough from the start, but he didn't expect this. When he had first arrived with his suitcase, the woman who was in charge of the home had given him a sweeping look and said, "_You're_ the boy they sent over?"

Alex had blankly stared at her, wondering what her big deal was. She was an older woman who had had blond hair at some point, but made a choice to try and cover it up with a weird hairstyle. Alex didn't find it in himself to tell her it that it wasn't working. She also had glasses that were smudged and slightly crooked. He didn't even get the chance to ask her any questions because he was thrown into a room almost before he had gotten a look at her, although he'd somehow managed a glance.

The room he was in... well... it sucked. That was all he could say without vehement language. Still, he wasn't really sure what to think about the environment. Alex once again took in his environment, thinking briefly about life with Jack. He didn't have a mattress or a cot. He had a few blankets - two - thrown on the floor. Although they were beaten and well used beforehand, he would be warm. He did get a pillow, too.

Alex had taken on (Scorpia Rising) Egypt as his last mission. The Pleasures had wanted to adopt him, but when Jack had died and Sabina's father had been unfortunate enough to have health complications, they hadn't been able to take him in. Alex had flat-out refused to do any more missions for MI6 and had told them in no uncertain terms, "No more." Alan Blunt had resigned as the MI6 head and Mrs. Jones had taken over. She had said she would set him up with a new life, and put him in the foster care system as Alex Hagan.

Mrs. Jones had said she would try to get the best house possible for him.

If this was the "best house possible," Alex wondered if the worst house possible was located somewhere down in Hell. Not the Hell that Brecon Beacons laid claim to, either. He mildly wondered if she had even tried to set him up with a good home.

Alex's head jerked up when the door swung open forcefully, snapping him out of his thoughts. He had been under the impression that everyone was asleep. He squinted his eyes under the harsh light that came from the hallway. His room, of course, had no light. These foster parents didn't even pretend to be nice.

"Who are you?" the man grunted.

"Um, I'm-" Alex got cut off.

"Never mind, I don't care who you are. You're money and that's all that matters to me. Let me lay down some rules you are to follow while in this house."

"But I-" Alex was startled and unprepared when the man took less than three steps to meet him, grab him by the scruff of his neck, and haul him to his feet.

"Rule number one: - don't speak. I don't want to hear a single word come out of your stupid mouth. Rule number two: - follow all orders. It doesn't matter if I tell you to jump off a building, you do it, or I'll beat you senseless and then shove you off the building. Rule number three: all money comes back to me. If I find out you stole anything, there will be hell to pay."

Alex gulped as the man paused, wondering just what MI6 had gotten him into now. Was this _really_the best home that Mrs. Jones could find for him?

"Rule number four: -no more than five hours of sleep a night. Unless I drug you, that is. And I will some time. Kids are fun to experiment with. And last but not least: -if you ever, _ever,_ try to run away, my men will hunt you down, and kill you slowly and painfully on the spot."

Alex visibly swallowed. Why was this man even allowed to foster children? What should he say? He had handled missions before without problem, but this wasn't a mission. This was his life.

And what the hell did the man mean, _kids were fun to experiment with?_

"One more thing," the man growled. "Your caseworker is coming tomorrow. You will follow these rules while talking with him. Understood?"

Alex found himself unable to speak, regardless of the rules or not, so he barely nodded. He had been through so much, but found himself terrified of this man.

What was he going to do when he found out Alex was once an MI6 agent? Alex hoped that didn't happen until the right time, otherwise his life could be over with.

## break ##

Alex Rider came back into consciousness with a groan groaned back to consciousness as he heard the door open. "Kid, it's time to get up," a thin-looking teenage boy said as he opened the door.

"What?" Alex asked, still rubbing the sleep from his eyes.

"Get up," the kid said again. Alex heard him this time and groaned. Remembering what the father had said last night about obeying all rules, Alex regretfully dragged himself out of his bed and followed the teenager. The last thing he wanted to happen was him being beaten for three minutes of extra sleep.

"I'm Alex," he said, quickly stifling a yawn.

The teenager quickly shook his head. "No, you don't want to go by your real name. They'll punish you. Unless you're talking to your caseworker, that is. They assign us names..." he quickly let his voice trail off as he saw another woman approach. This was the same woman from last night, Alex realized. He decided that her anti-blonde hairstyle still didn't work.

"Monotaro, are you talking again?" the stern woman's voice came through the hallway. "Oh. You. I forgot that Jeff -" Alex thought that might be her husband "-hadn't assigned you a name yet. Your name will be Bear. Monotaro, I'm going to overlook your little transgression. Show Alex the drug room. That's where you two will be assigned for the day."

Alex had observed Monotaro as he was being lectured by the stern woman. He really had no other name to call her. Monotaro grunted but led Alex into the room all the same. "We're going to package the drugs today," he explained as Alex followed him closely down a thin. hallway, side stepping out of the way for oncoming people.

Monotaro stopped suddenly, and Alex almost ran into him. He noticed he was roughly a foot taller than the other boy. How young were most of these kids? Alex himself was going undercover as a fourteen year old, although he was actually fifteen. Mrs. Jones had wanted him to "be able to restart his whole year."

"In here," was all Monotaro said until he slipped inside a room.

Alex entered the dimly lit room and surveyed it, instantly taking in all the details. How had this gotten past MI6's radar? Why had Jones decided that this would be a "good" home for him?

There were drugs everywhere - that was the best way to put it. Any questions in Alex's mind that this had been a bad idea were answered. But this 'bad idea' was now his life. And he had to learn to live with it and roll with the punches.

## break ##

Alex felt exhausted when he collapsed on top of a large blanket. His first day had been absolute hell. He had been kept up for nearly thirty eight-hours. A large shipment of drugs was going out today and they needed everyone on deck.

There were five children besides himself in the home. Him, now called Bear, Monotaro, and four other slaves he hadn't met yet. He closed his eyes. He felt physically sick to his stomach. Since he was new he was not allowed to have anything to eat.

God, he felt like he was going to vomit in the toilet. He allowed himself a breath. He got to sleep a whole six hours, breaking what the man had said earlier. He buried his face under his pillow. Oh, God, he felt like he was about to throw up.

He didn't like this.

He didn't like this at all.

## Three Days Later ##

So this was what three days without food and precious little water felt like...

He heard a few small thumps above his head, and he groaned, trying to block out all the noises. He had his food privileges revoked on the second damn day he had been there - all because he had said his name was Alex, not Bear. Unfortunately, the foster father had overheard and had decided that he needed to "learn his damn place," and had decided that starving him for an unspecified amount of time would do the trick.

Now that he wasn't on a mission, and never planned on doing missions for MI6 again, he knew better than to expect MI6 to help. Why should they care? He couldn't help but wonder, _was this his life now?_Because it certainly seemed like it.

The noise sounded like footsteps, but Alex couldn't be sure with the pounding in _his head_ that threatened to block out all surrounding noises. He wished it would go away. All of it, so he could drift back to sleep, if sleep is what you call collapsing from exhaustion. Then Alex wouldn't mind becoming exhausted again to get a few more hours of needed sleep.

With the pounding diminishing, from both above and in his head, he finally willed himself to crack his eyes open. As soon as he did, though, he closed them due to the cracks in the door that let the light stream evenly through it.

He groaned and turned over slightly, away from the door, but only got so far as his stomach started to churn. Holding his side he held his breath and tried to keep calm; he didn't want to know what happened if he threw up on the bedroom floor. Or if he managed to get out of the room and head to the restroom, someone could easily stop him. He figured he should lay low for a while, and try to keep calm until it passed.

However, this "sickness" would keep coming back unless they fed him, which Alex wanted to bet wouldn't happen for a while.

Eventually, he started to breathe in and out. His breathing soon calmed his stomach down, but he didn't want to move in fear of either throwing up what little food he had, or he would lose precious nutrition _and_ he'd be beaten.

This was by far worse than his time in Scorpia, he thought bitterly. At least they had fed him from time to time. He swallowed hard, wondering when he would get more water.

A loud banging came from his bedroom door. Suddenly, his breath hitched and his heart rate quickened, and he tried to calm himself down and emotionally prepare himself for what was to come. The door swung open after the third bang, and hit the wall next to him, making the paint chip from the force.

"Are you still sleeping?" a gruff voice demanded.

Alex knew it was the foster father; even though he couldn't see his face, he wouldn't forget that voice. Not the voice that sentenced him to starvation for an indefinite period of time and was making his life a living hell. He swallowed visibly. "No," he said, putting on a deliberately sulking face. He inwardly smirked. This guy thought he was stubborn by not saying his 'slave' name? Alex would show him stubborn.

"Good. Then you can come with me." The man grabbed Alex by his tattered blue sweater and dragged him out of the hallway.

Half of Alex wanted to ask where they were headed, and the other half wanted to punch the living daylights out of him. However he decided that neither of those choices were acceptable, so he stayed both quiet and still.

"Alright, listen up," he told Alex.

Alex just stared at him. If he didn't want him to talk, he wasn't going to say a thing. He would be stubborn, but wouldn't contradict the man.

"Every kid that comes in to this place has to be certified by the state. A social worker comes in periodically to see how the kids are doing, usually the new kids. In this case, you. Which means you keep your mouth shut. If you have to answer something, keep it simple. You got that, punk?"

Alex again did not say anything, or gesture that he had even heard him, which was a bad call on his part. He had been hoping to stay under the radar so that his eating privileges would be restored. He didn't expect Jeff's reaction to that, though. .

"I asked you a question!" the foster father snarled, and whacked him upside the head, which threw him off balance right into the wall.

Alex slid down slowly as he walked away stating something about meeting in the living room and not doing anything stupid.

There was a sudden knock on the door and Alex groaned. The social worker was here already. He had been hoping to avoid that for another nine centuries, but luck wasn't on his side today. Then again, it hadn't really been on his side lately, either. He swallowed hard. How was he supposed to keep his answers simple with the terror that gnawed at his gut? He had a feeling that the anxiety had as much to do with his situation as him not eating. He really wished that he could just have something, anything, to numb the hunger.

He took another personal moment before getting to his feet. The pounding in his head had came back, even worse than before, and he silently wished for a few aspirin. He made his way through the hallway and into the kitchen. Through the openings he could see the foster father standing there and another person behind him. Alex expected that to be the social worker.

From what Alex could tell he was as tall as the foster father and had a shaved head. He looked out of place as a social worker, but who was Alex to judge him. He, after all, was a teenage spy. Not many people have guessed that right.

"Oh, you must be Alex?" the social worker asked from his position across the room, peering over the foster father's shoulder. Forcing himself to calm the anxiety that registered in his gut, Alex tried to decide what to say.

He was just about to say, "No, I'm not Alex, I am your father," but the glare he received from the foster father stopped those words from forming on his tongue. He only managed a small nod of his head.

"He's not very talkative, this one," the father said. _Was that a good thing or a bad thing_? Alex wondered to himself.

Alex walked through the kitchen and stood in the doorway, keeping the distance between himself and the two of them. He didn't trust the social worker for a second - there was just something about him Alex didn't like. Alex vowed to get through the meeting by saying as little as possible, and wondered if he could say nothing.

The social worker nodded and smiled at him. The smile seemed to be more of a smirk, and Alex felt his stomach turn.

"I'm Matt," he held his hand out and Alex briefly shook it before tearing his hand away to put it next to his thigh. Acting the part of the terrified foster kid was easy - he was one!

"So, Alex...how have you been?"

"Fine," he said shortly. He now wished he never took someone else's help for granted. He knew he would never say he was 'fine' again if something was really wrong. But, would he even get the chance to get help again? Or would he be stuck here forever?

"Mhmm, I see. Now I know that you talked to Katherine about your grief, and she said you were making progress. Is this true?"

Alex nodded slightly, knowing that Katherine was his fake psychiatrist that had been added into his file. But he found that it was actually helping him, the whole cover was about his parents and drugs. Especially now, as he had been abandoned by the Pleasures. He didn't blame them really; they deserved to have the most meaningful life possible.

In his cover story MI6 had given him in the rest of his file, his parents had abandoned him when he was ten, as both had thought that he would be old enough to take on "real world capabilities." Needless to say, the government had disagreed, and Alex Hagan had been put into the foster care system. He had been thrown out of one foster care home after staying there for two years because the father died, according to his cover. Then, Alex had been fostered by another set of parents. They had fostered him for two years and forced him to sell drugs. He had been caught by the school and had been kicked out. Now, fourteen, he was here.

But while he wouldn't, and hadn't, taken drugs, it was just like being blackmailed by MI6. So needless to say, those fake sessions that they had set up to make the cover work had really helped him.

"That's great!" Matt told him and sent him another fake smile; at least this time it wasn't a smirk.

Matt then turned to the foster father, "Has he taken any drugs that you have noticed?"

Alex had gotten slightly hopeful, maybe this social worker had guessed what was going on in this house, and needed proof. Maybe they were working on getting him out of here as they spoke... He looked up ever-so-slightly before hesitatingly glancing at Jeff.

"Yes."

Alex's stomach dropped and he could feel the blood run from his face. _What_?

"I found him with a small dose of meth the first day he came up here," he told Matt. Matt looked actually torn and disappointed and Alex felt his hope slide down to the floor. "However I took care of the rest. We have been monitoring him, making sure he doesn't get anymore."

_Food!_ Was all Alex's brain could process at that thought. Maybe by "meth" they meant food. He drifted back into his brain just a little bit, thinking about what food tasted like. He jolted himself back into reality - he had to stop thinking like that; it wouldn't help. Maybe he could raid the refrigerator tonight.

"So he's going through the stages of withdrawal, but he will get through it." Those words snapped Alex back to reality, and he wondered if Jeff would be mad if he glared at him.

Matt nodded, understanding. "Alex, you know that meth isn't good for you. I thought you had been making progress in your addiction," he said, his voice sounding disappointed.

Alex cast his face down at the floor, staring at his shoes. What was he supposed to say? There was nothing he could really say without Jeff being mad at him.

"So that seems to wrap it up," Matt said, before he turned to Alex. "Now I want you to try your hardest not to give in, I know you can do it!"

Alex continued to stare at his shoes, not saying anything.

The sound of glass hitting the tiled floor came from behind Alex. He whirled around to see the kid, Monotaro, Alex thought his name was, standing there and staring at the three of them.

Monotaro glanced over at Alex, then looked at last from him on to Jeff and Matt. He swallowed so visibly that Alex could see his Adam's apple move. It didn't make sense to Alex; why was Monotaro been scared of the social worker? Jeff couldn't do anything with him there.

Alex was about to say something, but Matt beat him to the punch.

"Oh Monotaro! How great of you to join us! How has your addiction been going?" Alex didn't hesitate to notice the flash of fear that ran across Montaro's face.

"Not too well," Jeff answered for him. "He keeps slipping up. We had to take him to the hospital one time because he swallowed a whole bottle of painkillers." Jeff sounded serious and glared at Monotaro.

Monotaro looked even more frozen. Then Alex noticed Matt get this greedy look in his eyes, masked over by the grief look on his face that he gave Alex. Only this look was different. His was one of pure and utter... Alex didn't even know how to describe it, but it was there.

Jeff cleared his throat as he looked at Monotaro.

"Go do homework or something, Alex, while we talk about Monotaro's progress. Or lack thereof."

Alex stepped through the kitchen without another thought, and passed by Monotaro's saddened face. Monotaro looked at him and gave a broken smile.

Alex gave one back as he minded the glass on the floor, and continued his way out of the kitchen. What homework could he work on? He hadn't yet gone to school, and he was pretty sure that none of the other kids did either. This house seriously lacked in the education department. He made his way back to his 'room' and closed the door, pulling his blanket over his head.

He was going to die here.

That was the only hope that he had of getting out of this situation.

That was his last thought as he passed out.

#break#

Monotaro stiffened even more when Matt poked his head in the kitchen.

He had been coming to get a drink of water because the drug room was stuffy and dry. After a whole thirty-six hours in there with Alex, and some more this morning because of the lack of 'staff', he had spent far more time in there than he would have liked.

But he was shocked to see Matt standing there in front of him. He thought he wasn't supposed to come for a few more days at the least. Then he had remembered Alex.

Matt being the 'social worker' checked on all the new recruits/children when they moved in. So Monotaro wasn't expecting to see him standing in the living room.

"You better pick that up," Matt said as he referenced to the broken shards of glass scattered over the floor.

Monotaro sighed and turned towards the broom on the wall. His arm was grabbed and he was thrown to the floor. His uncovered hands and knees hit the glass. He winced as Matt stepped in one of his hands, crushing it further into the glass and making it go numb from the lack of blood flow. Monotaro knew not to cry out, or scream, or yell. It would all be all in vain.

"Did I say you could use a broom?" Matt said, not expecting a reply from Monotaro, he turned to Jeff, "Has he always been this bitchy?" he asked as he put more pressure on the hand.

Monotaro blinked away tears that threatened to fall as he watched blood slowly seep out of his hand.

"Usually," Jeff said. "Although I smack him around a bit... Make sure he falls into line."

"Well obviously you're not smacking hard enough. Maybe I should take him back..."

"No, he's the best drug sales man I have. He knows what he's doing in the factory. Plus you said it yourself when you handed him over... He has past experience, and no family, so he's perfect," Jeff said. Monotaro felt a rush of relief flood through his veins, fervently praying he wouldn't have to go back with Matt.

Matt smiled as he stepped on Monotaro's hand once more and it took everything for him not to scream in pain. . "I'll be back in the next few days for my check-up. See you then!"

Matt took one last look at Monotaro before heading out the door.

Jeff walked around to Monotaro's other side, and he stepped on his other hand much like Matt did. Monotaro clenched his other hand into a fist, making the shards go deeper, trying to block out all the pain. Jeff then put more weight on his foot before he bent down, his face next to Monotaro's. His breath smelled of stale beer and cheap cigarettes. Monotaro was hoping when this was over, his hand would just be sprained, not broken. Or that at the very least, it would be usable.

"What did I tell you about eavesdropping?" Jeff demanded, resting his hand on Monotaro's arm. Monotaro flinched.

"Not to do it," Monotaro said, before filling in, "Sir."

"Be sure not to slip up again, or I might just reconsider Matt's offer of sending you back."

Monotaro almost choked at the mere thought of having to go back there, but he managed to keep himself under control.

"Just remember who's in charge here," Jeff said before getting up, and taking his foot off of Monotaro's hand. He turned to walk out of the kitchen before he halted and said, "Clean up this mess too, and get back to work."

Monotaro watched him walk away. Once he was out of the kitchen Monotaro shifted so he was now on his butt. He glanced at his knees, noticing that they were bleeding a little. Then he moved his hands and cringed at the pain of even moving them.

Both of them flowed freely of blood and stung terribly. However his right one hurt much more than his left. He clutched his hand to his chest, ignoring the pain and his sobbing. It wasn't as much from the soreness but from the fact that Matt had stepped on his right hand.

He just wished he could live long enough to do something with his life, other than drugs. But he knew between the two of them, Jeff and Matt, that wish would be impossible.

For as much as Alex hated this life, it was so much better than his old house that to Monotaro it was almost heaven. He had to listen to Jeff because he would never be able to live with Matt again.

## break ##

Challenge:

Did Mrs. Jones really pick the best house available for Alex, or did she just shove him into any house? Or did she have a much more sinister reason for putting him with Matt?

Who is Monotaro, and why is he afraid of Matt and Jeff?

What criminal activities are Matt and Jeff involved in?


	2. One Little Phone Call

**CHAPTER TWO**

Wolf grumbled as he walked down the dark alley way, muttering under his breath. Had the SAS member he was calling left his phone off? He must have, because there was no new news from Snake. Grumbling, Wolf flipped open his phone and called again.

Nothing. But of course. Maybe he should try calling Eagle. Cringing at that thought, he sighed, thinking that the fourth time would be a charm. He didn't dare take a break from walking even though he was dead tired; the alley he was in was not in the best of neighborhoods. He hadn't been to the neighborhood before but could tell that the number of vacant windows indicated that it wasn't the best place to be. His car had broken down half a mile back, and he, being stupid, had thought it would be a great idea to go down a dark alleyway...

What the hell had he been thinking, anyway?

Wolf stopped dead in his tracks as he saw the man with the gun. All of his instincts from SAS took over - even though he was on break. He started backing quietly out of the alley, dialing 9-9-9 on his cell phone. There was no way that man had a legitimate reason to be with that gun in that alley -

Wolf blanched as he saw the body.

_DAMN! _What had he stumbled into?

Moving backwards as quickly and as quietly as he could, he blanched again when he saw the man get up and rise.

"Hold your position!"

Wolf did as he was told, hastily dropping his phone to the floor as he raised his hands. He hoped his 999 call had gone through.

"Sorry - I was just walking through the alley." Wolf hadn't brought his weapon along with him. He had been out for a short drive; he was on break, he hadn't felt the need. He really did need to learn to keep that thing on him at all times; even Eagle was better at that then he was. His heart pounded at a million miles per minute; his blood pressure steadily rising.

"Who are you?" This. Was. So. Not. Good. At. All.

Wolf swallowed hard. What should he say? Should he say he was SAS, or not? Sometimes that worked for you and sometimes that worked against you; Wolf knew that all too well. "I'm nobody, man," Wolf responded. He attempted to sound fearful as he backed away ever so slightly. He kept his hands raised, but kept his mind ever alert.

"Nobody... you got a name, nobody?"

Dammit. The scenario he had been hoping to avoid. Should he give his code name and risk revealing he was SAS? Should he give his real name? He wasn't on active duty right now... well... he was on break _from_ active duty... the stupid lines were so blurry behind this that it was pathetic.

His dilemma was solved for him as another man entered into the back of the alley. "Christoph, let's go! They want us to leave now. This place will be crawling with cops in minutes!"

The other man stopped when he saw Wolf, hands raised. "Who the hell is he?"

"Trying to figure that out," the man said, keeping his gun pointed firmly at Wolf.

"Bring him with us. We don't have time for this shit!"

The man steadied his gun. "Well, mate," he said, "looks like you're coming with us."

This was really not what he wanted to be doing. Regardless, Wolf followed them towards the car, hesitating ever so slightly. He was about to get in the car when the chloroform was shoved under his nose and everything went black.

* * *

Alex groaned as he made his way back to consciousness. He had been allowed to drink some tap water last night and was given a bottle to keep with him, so he felt much better. The door opened and light flooded in, and Jeff glared down at him. Inwardly, Alex winced.

And yet, in a way, it was easy to act his part. Although he did not and would never do drugs, he was now a foster kid. After all the work he had done for MI6, they had abandoned him here.

"Get up." Jeff grabbed Alex by his arms and dragged him up, physically hauling him towards the table. He shoved him down and Alex looked at the brown, worn table. There was a plate of food there. Although Alex was starving, did not want to risk the ire of one of Jeff's beatings. "Here's your breakfast," he said gruffly. "You didn't say a word to anyone yesterday, so I am going to give you that as a reward."

Alex nodded his thanks, hoping that he didn't seem ungrateful to Jeff. He swallowed as he reached for his plate, and he could feel his stomach rumble in hunger. He slowly grabbed a piece of toast from the plate and munched on it slowly. Even though he wanted to devour it, he knew his stomach wouldn't be able to handle all the food at once.

Too soon he finished the first piece of toast, and wished he had something to drink, as it was dry. He took a huge bite out of the second piece of toast, and noticed that it was burnt. It tasted horrible, but he wasn't going to complain.

Jeff was suddenly standing in front of the table, with a glass of water. Alex hadn't even registered that he had left. He finished off his toast and grabbed the water.

He was mid sip when Jeff startled him out of his thoughts with, "The water's drugged."

Alex spit out what he had already consumed. He started coughing and choking. He set the glass down and glanced at Jeff just in time to see a fist come his way.

He got knocked to the floor, and he covered his body as Jeff violently kicked him. He failed to notice in his haze that Jeff had put the water on the table. The next thing he registered was that Jeff had wrapped his meaty hand around his arm biceps. "You're going to get to go on a little tour today, Alex. And I need you compliant. Drink the damn water, or I'll force the pill down your throat. Trust me when I say that you won't like that. Monotaro almost had to be sent to the hospital the last time I did that."

Alex went over his options. Well he could either drink the water, and suffer the consequences, or have Jeff likely kill him by forcing it down his throat. He mentally sighed as he slowly nodded. Jeff kept a hold of his arm as he stood up, bringing Alex with him. Alex almost threw up the food that he had eaten.

Jeff handed Alex the glass of water and let go of his arm. Alex closed his eyes and downed the water. Now that he knew about it, he could taste a slightly gritty taste in the water. At least he now knew what to look out for when his water was being drugged. He breathed a silent sigh of relief when his body didn't collapse on the floor and his face didn't turn green after he finished it.

Alex sat the empty glass on the table and wiped his mouth off with the back of his hand. He glared at Jeff for only a brief second before he turned his gaze towards the floor.

Jeff smiled. "Now that you're prepared," he said, "I think we're ready."

Jeff walked out of the kitchen and told Alex to follow. Alex was in the midst of following before he caught sight of the apple, which was sitting on the counter. He grabbed it and stashed it away in his jacket pocket. He didn't know when he would get food again, and he didn't know how his body would react to the drugs.

Alex needed to be prepared for anything in this crazy house.

* * *

Wolf sighed as he sat up. He was in a basement somewhere, and one guy had came down to see if he was still alive. He told him to stay put, and the boss would be down to see him soon.

Wolf wondered how he was supposed to escape. The basement really had nothing in it: a bed, which Wolf had occupied the whole time, a small dresser in the corner, and that was it. There was another door, on the other side of the stairs, but it was locked under a huge deadbolt, so Wolf didn't even try to open it.

Other than that the basement was dark, dingy, damp and... just generally disgusting. His only hope was that K-Unit would notice he was gone and that they would come rescue him. He had just awoken from what he presumed to be a drugged sleep. He was surprised to find he was not tied, which to him, meant that he was not in a place where he could easily be found or could escape easily. The basement didn't even have a window!

He would have to keep it a secret that he was SAS, he decided.

Suddenly, someone opened the door. Their boots clicked on the floor and Wolf winced; dammit. That wasn't good.

"You are needed. A potential buyer is here to see you. You will be respectful at all times and you will not say a damn word unless spoken too. Got it?"

Wolf gritted his teeth, mentally debating whether to scream that slavery was against the law or to go along with the man's orders. He decided that being compliant now would allow him to surprise his captors when he broke away later.

"Got it," he said.

* * *

Alex observed the huge house before him. It was dingy and dirty on the outside, he didn't want to know what it was like inside. What he didn't know was that on the inside, it was much nicer - for some people.

He walked up the steps behind Jeff. He was told on the car ride there that he was to keep his mouth shut and to pay attention to what was being said as it would only be said once. Jeff had mentioned something about respect and tolerance, but Alex was thinking about when he could escape. Though he didn't get a very specific getaway because his mind kept going back to what Jeff was saying.

Alex thought it to be the drugs- they made his focus foggy on little things -but when someone was talking, like Jeff, he found his mind focused on what he was saying. Even if he tried, and oh did he try, he couldn't block him out. It was utterly impossible.

Alex blinked as they were inside already and Jeff told him to stand off to the side, and out of the way. Perhaps the drugs let his mind wander when someone wasn't talking. He sighed softly, wanting to know how long the side effects would last for.

He stood next to the living room door, watching Jeff talk to Matt...wait Matt? What was Matt doing here? Alex found himself confused and worried, remembering Monotaro's flash of fear when he'd seen Jeff. Why wasn't Matt doing anything about Jeff, who was talking about trading something? They were too far away for Alex to hear them clearly. He shifted his feet when Matt looked over at him.

He had that crazed look in his eyes, and that stupid smirk plastered on his face. Alex knew before he got out, he would be sick of seeing Matt, the supposed 'social worker'.

"Oh, Alex, how great of you to join us," Matt said to him. "Come over here."

Alex found his feet moving without him giving it a second thought. He tried to resist but his body obeyed. Once he got closer, he stood next to Jeff. In his opinion he was far too close to this stranger, or his foster father, but his body wouldn't move an inch.

He waited for Matt or Jeff to say something, but when no words were exchanged Alex was going to ask what was going on. However when he opened his mouth he found himself unable to form words.

Matt smirked and glanced at Jeff. "I see you drugged him."

Jeff nodded, "Yes, I thought it would be best. After all, he needed to know who was in charge."

"A smart move regarding a newbie," Matt commented. "Which brings me to why I called you here in the first place. How about a trade. I found a slave that would be perfect for selling drugs. Well with Alex being new and all, I thought I would offer to take him off your hands for a while?"

Jeff thought for a minute, too long in Alex's opinion. _He had to say no, and he can't do this. Slavery is illegal!_ Alex thought. But then again, Matt could be nicer than Jeff. Though Alex doubted that. After all the permanent smirk and the look in his eyes told Alex he was not to be trusted.

"Who is this potential salesman?" Jeff asked.

Alex felt the blood flow slowly leave his face..._Shit_, he thought, _he's actually thinking about it!_

Matt snapped his fingers and one of his followers, forced or on their own free will, went around the corner. "I don't know how much help he will be. He hasn't said much, and he seems to know when to give up and that he can't escape this. He hasn't given me a name, though that is not of an importance. I was going to give him his slave name anyway, regardless if you took him or not."

Alex wondered who this 'slave' was. No scratch that, this human being who was in the process of being forced into this lifestyle. What had they done to him to make him give up, and automatically not try to escape. Alex knew that he was probably going to die, but he was a child. With the threats that rained down on him every hour of everyday, Jeff made sure that Alex knew his place in this new life. Hell, the look on Monotaro's face proved that he thought the same thing.

But if this person was an adult, why was he giving up so easily? He could probably fight his way out, if he had the tactics and muscle to give a damn. Alex frowned slightly at how easily defeat came to him. If he wanted to care about his life, he would take the small things and turn them into something he could use.

He would keep looking up, and attempting to find ways to escape. Whoever this person was, he would help them too. They didn't need to think life was over this early on, that something could easily change. Alex would make sure of it.

The person came back and brought another on tow. Alex was staring in thought at his feet, dreading to see the look of submission covering the man's face. He didn't want him to know that he was responsible for the trade off, that he could possibly ruin his life even more.

Despite his want to look at the floorboards beneath his feet, his head tilted up when Matt started to speak again.

"He is obviously fit, however he probably hasn't taken any drugs. Though we could change that if you want. What's Alex's name?"

Alex didn't bother to hear the response that Jeff gave. Though he did hear a short brief, Bear, he blocked the rest out. Or as well as he could manage. He was in shock, as standing before him was no slave. He was probably thinking the same thing about Alex. The only thoughts that went through his head where: _Wolf! What the hell is he doing here? Where is the rest of K-Unit? Did they manage to get captured too? _

_Dammit Wolf, you let yourself get captured...and if what Matt tells us is true... You have already given up. Where is the Wolf I used to know? The one that didn't back down from a challenge...the Captain that wouldn't leave his team for anything. Certainly the person that wouldn't give up in a situation like this._

Alex roamed Wolf's face trying to look for the answers...but he couldn't find anything. His face was hidden of all emotions, and he truly did look crushed. _So what happened to the person I used to know,_ Alex thought, his mind working frantically. But without Wolf giving anything away except defeat, and he came up with nothing. _What the hell did they do to you, Wolf?_

"Hmm, I don't like that name...Bear, it sounds like such a big burden for this little brat. How about..." he looked at Wolf. "What do you think?"

Wolf just stared at Alex, his eyes. Alex hoped he saw the small spark of light. The hope that filled his heart, letting him know that things weren't over. But when he looked into Wolf's eyes, he saw shame and regret. The hope slowly diminished, and when Wolf spoke for the first time that Alex had heard in years; that hope fell right to the floor.

"Cub," Wolf said shortly. His voice was so different, so beaten.

So when Matt asked him the same question, he found himself locking eyes with Wolf. The emotion was deadly, the blackness that engulfed Alex's soul. Everything that he had learned in the past few years, couldn't help him now. His mind was blank...he couldn't think of another way to put their situation. He answered Matt's question fairly quickly, the response on his tongue at once.

But when he said "Wolf" he felt as though he was dragging Wolf down with him. Not talking to him as a person anymore...no now 'Wolf' was a slave. So was 'Cub', and nothing could change that.

'Cub' found himself falling. He knew for sure now that he would not be able to escape, to be trapped in this 'life' for the upcoming years. Alex Rider couldn't do anything for them. If Wolf was empty and out of options, so was he. He had no way to know that Wolf was only playing the part of the broken person to be able to escape easily, and was simply stunned to see Alex present.

Alex Rider was a dead man, and soon 'Cub' would be too.


	3. New Enemies and No Old Friends

**Once again I stress that this is a collaboration between _Writer With Sprite and Torn Apart Paper Dinosaur. The work belongs to these original author(s). Anything you recognize probably belongs to Anthony Horwitz. Anything you don't probably belongs to us._**

_**We would love some reviews. If we get more reviews, we're much more likely to post this early, so please, please, please review! **_

**CHAPTER THREE**

All too soon Jeff and Wolf left. Alex, more commonly called Cub, was left behind. He didn't like his current predicament but had little to no choice. He felt like he was exhausted and sleepwalking but could do nothing to get rid of the symptoms.

"So, let's establish some ground rules, shall we?" Matt remarked.

Alex didn't know what to say, or do, so he settled with a short grunt.

"Now don't be like that," Matt replied. "We are going to have so much fun, you just wait!" Alex felt chills rush down his spine as Matt opened his mouth and begin to speak again. He couldn't believe Jeff had just _left _him here.

"The first rule is no talking to anyone other than me. I suppose you've seen my acquaintances walking around. You are not allowed to speak with them. Even then I don't want to hear anything out of your mouth unless I ask a direct question. The next rule is if you ever go near the front door, I will know and I will make sure there is consequences. Which brings me to my next conclusion; you are not allowed to use the telephone or the computer. Again if you do use them, I will find out and, oh, you don't want to know what would happen."

Matt smirked at Alex, and he couldn't stop himself from tearing his gaze away. He wanted to run and flee but knew that if he did so he would be punished. He found himself slipping into the role of the foster kid easily.

Alex knew that his way to contact MI6 had been taken away, and that they would never come rescue him unless he somehow got a duress call, which he doubted would happen. He wasn't on a mission for them, so what would they care to help him? Never mind that it was _their_ fault he was in this hell hole to begin with.

"Another rule is that you will call me sir. Unless we are out in public, then I am just Matt. I believe that a certain deal of respect should be formed. And if I feel that you are not up to my standards then you will be punished," Matt told him. When Alex didn't verify that he was listening, Matt spoke up again. "Do you understand, Cub?"

Alex cringed at the new name that held so many past memories. Matt only smirked.

"Yes sir. I understand," Alex told him, his voice softer than he would have liked. He found himself actually terrified of Matt, knowing that he couldn't change a single thing.

"Glad we understand one another. You seem like a pretty smart kid Cub, unlike Monotaro. And I know that you won't break any rules, or make me upset. So I believe that you should still carry out your education. I know a private teacher who would be delighted to teach another young mind. You will be home schooled on Monday's and Friday's. In those two days you will be required to complete a total of five hours' work each day. I expect you to complete maths homework, Spanish, French, amongst other work. You'll find the books in your closet, along with paper. However if you disobey me, or break one of the rules, then your education will be taken away. Do I make myself clear?"

"Yes sir," Alex mumbled. His education taken away, surprise, surprise. Like he hadn't had _that_ threat before.

"Great! Follow me." Matt said and turned around., already expecting Alex to listen.

000-000

Alex found himself following Matt, albeit unwillingly, from the front door to the next room. He took one last longing look at the door, knowing that he would never be allowed to escape through it. He mildly wondered how long he would be here. Maybe someday he could be free.

Someday...

Alex was let in by Matt to his room and he noticed that Matt used the key card to access it. Mildly, he wondered what that was like.

Alex felt stunned at the rules. He had no doubt that his time at Matt's was going to be by far worse than his time at Jeff's. He wondered mildly why Monotaro had seemed more fearful of Matt than Jeff himself and wondered what, exactly, Monotaro had suffered here.

Alex had the chilling feeling he was about to find out.

His "bedroom" here was nicer than his one at Jeff's. Firstly, it was an actual BEDROOM. He got a bed. The closet was packed full of school books and paper. Matt explained to Alex that he was going to be homeschooled and expected to use the books to do his work. Alex wasn't really sure that he liked that, but it wasn't as if he hadn't taught himself everything before.

He took a deep breath and steeled himself before sliding to the floor. He felt awful. His stomach clenched, and suddenly, the next thing he knew, he was reaching for the wastebasket and vomiting. He gagged once more before leaning back to the bed.

He swallowed as he remembered the apple in his pocket. What should he do with it? He hesitantly took the apple and set it inside his jacket pocket, hanging the jacket inside the closet. Hopefully Matt wouldn't look for it there. He didn't think that he could stomach any food right that second.

All too soon Matt poked his head in the room. "Cub, are you - what is that smell?" he asked. He looked in the trash can and wrinkled his nose. "When you throw up - you will from time to time - just do so in the toilet, here." He opened the door to the adjourning bathroom, cleaned the waste basket, and shut the door. "Come with me to the table."

Alex followed Matt grimly to the table, wondering mildly if he would get to eat. To his pleasant surprise there was a bowl of rice and two pieces of toast there. These people seemed to be big on toast. Matt gestured for Alex to take the closest chair, and he did without complaint. Matt sat down next to him, but Alex noticed he had nothing on his plate. He would be eating later or had already eaten, Alex guessed.

Hesitantly, Alex took a sip of the water. "It isn't drugged," Matt said, as if he could read Alex's mind on drugged water. He smiled. "I know that Jeff likes to surprise you sometimes. And you can eat, it's fine."

_He's too nice_, Alex thought. He had a feeling that something was up. And he would be caught off guard when he least expected it. He swallowed hard and nodded, taking a bite of the food. "So, Alex," Matt remarked, "What was your last foster home like?"

"Nothing much too to tell. Much like Jeff's...despite the drugs floating around." Alex guessed that he needed to know what the boundaries were with Matt. So why not start pushing now? He needed to know what they were like.

MI6 had given him a new life, telling him he needed to be a typical foster kid. They'd all but abandoned him in the system. Somehow, if he could, he needed to get Wolf out. But he was stuck here.

This wasn't a mission, Alex knew, but he had to treat it like one.

"So... What got you started taking drugs?"

"My parents were infamous drug dealers. That is, until they got caught."

"I'm sorry about your loss," Matt responded.

Alex stiffened. "Don't be, they deserved it..." he took another bite of the rice and allowed his voice to trail off. "They started drugging me when I was about nine. Even if I wanted to stop, I don't think I could manage the withdrawals. Sometimes they would force me to endure withdrawals just to watch me in pain."

Matt nodded. "So you kept up your habit because you couldn't go through the withdrawal phase?"

Shaking his head, Alex responded, "No. I gave it up when I was at my foster parent's house and then they kicked me out because the dad died. Then this family drugged me again and I've had a horrid time letting go."

"Don't worry, I can help with that... actually, that reminds me. Before Jeff left, he gave me these." He held out a box. Alex took his last bite of rice and looked longingly at the bowl, wondering if there was more and if there was if he should even eat it. "He said this was the medication you were assigned to take. Is that true?"

Alex almost choked on his rice. Jeff...he reminded himself that he had to get back at him for all of these obscured lies. Alex briefly shook his head. "No, I don't remember having to take any medication. In fact he didn't even bring it to my attention." Alex hoped that Matt would just drop it; he was still on the drug that Jeff had given him that morning. It was slowly wearing off, yet he didn't _want_ to be forced any more drugs. And he certainly wasn't going to take them willingly.

"Odd. It said that on your chart. Are you trying to be able to take drugs, Kid?" Alex noticed that Matt's voice became gruff. He swallowed hard. How far should he push the envelope?

Alex sighed and set his spoon down. He was about to tell him that it was a lie, he certainly didn't want to take any of those drugs. Or any drugs for that matter, but Matt interrupted him.

"It doesn't matter. You've been through the withdrawal process - you know they aren't good for you. I'll have to step up your monitoring now, and if you don't take these I'll put a camera in your bedroom. AND I'll revoke your education for a day each week. So, what do you say?"

With that, he handed the pills and a glass of water to Alex.

Alex honestly didn't know what to do. On one hand he didn't want to be taking drugs at all, but that changed this morning and there's no going back. He had no clue what the withdrawal symptoms were like for the little drug Jeff gave him, but he had some idea that it would be painful.

So he could avoid the pain for now, and take the six or something pills here and now. Or he could have a camera in his room...and still be required to take the pills. Either way, he would have to take them, and at one time or another, Alex would know _exactly_ what it felt like to be a drug dealer. The first hit, to withdrawal, to selling the drugs. Alex would have to go through it all.

"So, what's your choice?" Matt questioned. He had lowered his glare to a smile that gave Alex the creeps, and at that second, Alex knew that he had to do what was right. Whether it would save him in the end or not, it would certainly help him now.

Hesitantly, the teenage boy nodded. Matt's grin grew to a smirk as he refilled the tap water and released five pills into his hands. "This is the first step to recovery, Cub."

_This is the first step to addiction, you sorry son of a bitch_, Alex thought, but wisely kept his mouth shut and only nodded.

"But I'm afraid that you have to be punished. You disobeyed me. So I'll have to put a camera in your room until I'm convinced that you're not craving any drugs anymore. Actually, there is one in there now. I had a feeling Jeff would make the trade, so I wanted the room set up." Matt flashed him a creepy grin.

Alex just stared at the pills in his hand, all various sizes and multiple colors. He didn't believe that he could get away with faking it, he cursed Matt for making his life hell. Knowing he had no other choice, he decided to just get it over with. Throwing all five pills in his mouth, he reached for the water.

He managed to swallow all five and finish off the water. But there was this feeling inside of him that protested. It wasn't just about swallowing the pills; it was about the dread that came with it. Alex guessed it to be anxiety, and his throat seemed to swell as if he had taken the pills dry instead of topping off a full glass of water.

He swallowed, trying to get the taste of plastic off of his tongue, but nothing helped. Matt smiled at him and patted his shoulder. "I knew you would see the way, Alex," he complimented with a smile.

Alex didn't have anything to say to him, except a few choice words. But he decided against that, knowing it would only set him back farther...however ahead he was. So he just managed a short nod.

"Good. Now I think that you need to go to your room. You've had a long day, and you need a rest. Do you have any questions?"

"No sir," Alex replied and slowly pushed out the chair with his feet. "May I go now?"

"Not yet," Matt cautioned. He reached in a basket and pulled something out. "You'll also need this. It's a tracking anklet that tells me where you are at all times. If I catch it off of you, there will be hell to pay. Understand?"

Alex stood up, contemplating on whether he could make it to the front door or not. But he felt the drugs slowly taking effect, making his vision hazy for a second. Either that, or he was just tired. "Yes," Alex mumbled. "I understand, sir." Alex sat back down and lifted his pants leg up, just enough for Matt to attach the tracking device.

"Remember, no middle of the night wondering through the halls. You stick to your room. I'll lock the door at eight. If for some reason you're not in there will be hell to pay. Understood?"

Alex hesitated for a second. He should have expected that, Matt being...well Matt. He sighed and agreed, rather forcefully. After all, this was his life now. He couldn't make waves. "Yes, I understand."

"Good," Matt responded with a smile. "Now it's time to go to your room. You don't have to do any homework or anything tonight, just get used to the place. Tomorrow is Saturday, so when it's time, I'll come to your room and let you out. Got it?"

"Yes sir." Alex scooted out of the chair and stood once more, finding his balance off, he held the side of the table. Matt made no move to help him, watching from afar, and smirking the whole time. Once Alex righted himself, he found his vision still blurry, and he was very dizzy. It appeared that the drugs were taking effect already.

"Follow me," Matt said curtly and left the kitchen, grabbing Alex by his arm. Alex toppled to the floor, Matt sighed dramatically. "See, this is what happens when you take the wrong drugs, and go through periods of withdrawal. Good thing I'm here for you. Now get up, it's almost eight."

Alex made his way back up. He couldn't really feel anything other than the floor beneath his feet, and the surprisingly strong grip on his upper arm. His vision was horrible, and he roughly wondered if this was what it felt like to be drunk. Well he now knew for a fact, this is what it feels like to be on drugs. He didn't know what the hype was about; it sucked.

Alex didn't remember the walk to his room, he only put together that they were in the kitchen, and now here they were standing in front of his room. Matt slid the electronic card through the machine next to the door, and it beeped open. He either threw Alex, or he tripped, but whatever happened he found his face ground into the carpet.

He roughly herd Matt say "G'night" before the door closed, and the little beep met his ears. All Alex remembered was the faint smell of grime that had buried into the carpet, before he closed his eyes and passed out.

Challenges:

What drug(s) was Alex given?

What is going on with Wolf? Does the K-Unit know that he is missing?

How soon should we update?

_Please review. We have completed this humble work over many hours and if you review, we will grant you internet cookies. The review button is also looking a little feisty right now and it looks like it wants to take one of us hostage (and if it takes us hostage, we can't update, so that's a problem.) Help! Please review! _


	4. It Pissed Him Off, and What Money?

A/N: The action heats up! Summary changed. Thanks to Jayden95 for the beta and thanks to Torn Apart Paper Dinosaur for the co-authoring! Loved working on this chapter.

CHAPTER FOUR

Wolf exhaled forcefully as he opened his eyes. He felt better having slept. He was trying to remain compliant as he got a feel for the place. After he arrived with 'Jeff', if that was his real name, he got the ground rules of the place. Though Wolf wasn't really listening, taking in his surroundings, and trying to find means of escape.

He heard something along the lines of: no talking, follow orders, and something about money. Well Wolf was having a problem with the last two. He could certainly keep his mouth shut from time to time...unlike Eagle. However, he was used to being the one giving orders, not receiving them. It pissed him off, and what money?

The other guy, Mitch or something, was talking about drugs. The hell? He wasn't going to sell drugs. These people were fucking crazy! There was no way he could last long in this place. Which brought his thoughts back to Cub.

No, Alex, his mind corrected him. He wouldn't stoop that low and treat him like trash. How had he made it here in the first place? Because from the looks of things, Alex certainly didn't seem to want to be there any more than he did. Wolf had thought he had heard something about 'foster care' and had wondered what happened to the Alex he used to know, what had happened to the kid who hadn't been afraid to kick his arse out of the plane.

Granted he didn't really know him, but had seen him last at Brecon Beacons, and at Point Blank. He didn't seem like the kid he saw broken and battered just a few hours ago. When had the final tip come that pushed Alex over the edge? When did the transformation take place? What had happened? It was as if Alex had just shut down when he had seen Wolf, which Wolf didn't understand at all. It wasn't as if he was the bad guy - but then again, he hadn't been exactly friendly to Alex, either.

He felt himself drifting off to sleep again and cursed the damn drugs, praying that the K-Unit realized he was missing and he could get himself and Alex out of there.

-3-

Wolf sat up with little to no effort, though once he got up he felt a slight headache coming on. Sighing he headed for the door, but found it opening on it's own. He took a step back, wondering who it could be. If it was that 'Jeff' guy, he would punch him before he knew what hit him.

But Wolf didn't know if he should be thankful or disgusted that a mere child stood in front of him. The kid had a plate with him, and he came in and slowly closed the door.

"Alex," he whispered. "I have-"

The kid looked up and dropped the plate in surprise. It shattered on contact and the little food that was on it went with it. The kid gasped faintly and moved to open the door again.

Wolf wasn't having any of that, he needed answers and he needed them now. Taking roughly two steps he closed the door again, and pushed him away from it. He had his back to the door, blocking any means of escape for him.

"What the fuck, Alex?" Wolf demanded, roughly grabbing the kid's arm. "You wanna tell me what the hell is going on here - how you got from the hellhole where we last met to here?"

Wolf noticed that Alex was trembling slightly, and he was about to ask him what the hell his problem was, but he beat him too it.

"I'm n-not Alex...not anymore," he responded. Wolf noticed how his body shook. What had these creeps done to the kid?

With a second glance Wolf could indeed see it wasn't Cub and felt grateful he hadn't revealed his whole hand. "No... you're not Cub - what do you mean you're not Alex anymore? What the hell did you do to Alex?"

"I left that name behind, a while ago," he told Wolf as he continued to shake. "But I-I didn't me-mean too." the kid started to cry. Wolf forced himself to release the kid's hand and then paused. Wait -

"No... Alex... the person! Like..." Wolf trailed off, staring at the kid, not sure how to explain himself.

"It's all my fault!" the kid broke off into a ramble. "I..I tried to stop him. Give him a little warning...bu-t it w-wasn't enough. I w-wasn't fast enough. And now that Alex isn't here I only...I should have- have taken his place. Or have done something..."

What the hell did the kid mean by that?

"Sit down," Wolf instructed. He had to get his answers. "Okay. Where is Alex at now? Do you know? You might know him by another name - I think he said - uh - Bear..."

The kid flopped down on the mattress, and started to talk again, with a little more control in his voice this time around. "I knew him by both names. Although I would like to know the real Alex and not the fake 'Bear'. As to where he's at...I have no clue. If he went with Matt, which is a high possibility, then they could be anywhere by now."

Wolf tried to rack his brain to think of the question that he needed to ask, sensing they had a limited time - not to mention that they'd both likely be punished for the plate. "What happens at Matt's - or with Matt?"

The kid was silent...and didn't speak up for quite a while. "I-I don't want to talk about - it." he moved away from the bed and started to pick up the little pieces of plate.

"Look, I don't know how to explain, but I'm on the good side. I need to know so that I can try and help."

"You want to help?" the boy asked suspiciously as he stopped cleaning, not believing what he just heard.

Listening carefully for any footsteps, Wolf nodded. "I don't want to be here either - but I need to know what is going on so that I can help. I promise not to tell anyone about what happened unless I can trust them."

The kid thought for a few seconds before picking up where he left off. "Well, what's your name?"

"They 'named' me Wolf, if that's what you mean," Wolf remarked. How much longer could this kid stall? He wished he had therapy skills.

He nodded, "The name's Monotaro. It's nice to meet you Wolf. What more do you want to know?"

"I want to know why you're terrified of the name Matt," Wolf bluntly demanded. He felt like being direct would be the only way to get the information out of this kid. "Look, they may send me back there for all I know. What happened to you there?"

Monotaro sighed and picked up an apple that fell to the ground. "If you were at Matt's then eat that," he tossed Wolf the apple, before continuing. "All I can say is that Jeff is a hell of a lot nicer than Matt. And if Alex is there...I can only hope that he cooperates with Matt...things will turn out better in the end..." Monotaro trailed off slightly.

Wolf lowered his voice like he had seen Eagle do when speaking with trauma victims. "Monotaro, I don't know how much time we'll have to talk in private. I know this is hard for you but I really, really need you to be blunt honest about everything that happened."

"And you promise that everything will be kept a secret?" Monotaro asked, his voice trembling.

Wolf nodded. Eventually there may come a time when he would have to reveal parts but he would only do that to the K-Unit. "I'm not like whoever else is here; you know that."

Monotaro nodded briefly, staring at the floor he sat on before saying, "I know, I'm sorry. It was January 18, 2011, when I had my first hit." he glanced at Wolf. "And it wasn't the cheap stuff either, no this was the real deal...and I found out that I actually enjoyed it...But that didn't last for long. I soon found myself living with Matt, after that first hit, and the hours blended in together. I sold drugs whenever I could just so he wouldn't get angry with me." Monotaro took a breath before continuing.

"Yet, when I wasn't selling drugs...it seemed like I was taking them. Matt supplied me with anything that I wanted...or rather my body needed. I wanted nothing to do with drugs anymore, so when I tried to leave, it made everything worse. From beginning to end, and even now with the relapses and withdrawal symptoms, it was horrible. And I wouldn't wish that kind of life on anyone."

Wolf nodded grimly. "What happened... what else happened? Why are you so scared of him personally? Other than giving drugs... what did he do to you?" Wolf hated to press but needed to know to understand the criminals he was dealing with.

"I..." Monotaro took another breath and continued on. Knowing that this would help them find Alex, he had to give in... besides, he wanted to share his story too. "The first time I tried to escape," he said and lifted his pant leg up a little to show Wolf the anklet, "He strapped this on me and told me that he wanted me close to him...at all times."

"What did he mean by that?" Wolf asked gently.

"Well...after my second attempt of trying to climb out the second story window, he had me moved to...his..bedroom..." Monotaro trailed off.

"I won't tell anyone, Monotaro. Whatever you want to tell me..." Wolf let his voice trail off and met his eyes. "What... happened?"

"He..." Monotaro sighed and his hand trembled as he ran it through his hair. "He.. he... touched me..." Monotaro started to cry. "You've seen him..haven't you?"

"Who?" Wolf asked, feeling bad now that he'd asked. Dammit... What had he gotten himself into?

"Matt," Monotaro told him. "He has this fucking crazed look in his eyes...he's a psychopath! And the worst part is..." Monotaro wiped his eyes, clearing the tears that blurred his vision.

What the hell did he say now? Wolf didn't know. I'm sorry sure as hell didn't seem to cut it. "Thanks for trusting me," he responded. "What happens now?"

"Well, the worst part is that I let Alex be taken away. If I would have known...then I could have stopped it...Wolf, I have to save him. We have to save him."

"We will," Wolf promised, wondering how the hell he would keep his promise. "Come on. Let's clean up this plate, huh?"

## break ##

Alex groaned as he shifted in his bed. He cringed at the light that enveloped his room, his head hurting from the new drugs that he took last night. While it was the fourth day into this 'new home' Alex felt that everything was in slow motion, and he wanted nothing to do with it.

He had to get out of here, but how? He didn't know where to turn. He had no option. He had to just take it... right?

Besides the annoying birds that he normally blocked out, he had triggered his mind to recognize something else that he looked forward to in the morning. That annoying beeping sound that kept him locked away from civilization. But when he heard it this morning, his head pounded in protest and he found himself pulling the pillow over his head to cover his hurt ears. The only thing he wanted to do now was strangle this son of a bitch that was on the other side of the door.

"Cub," Matt said as he walked in. "You have to get up."

Alex didn't do anything. He just laid there because it hurt to move.

"I canceled your tutor for this morning. However you will be required to do the work too. Now get up Cub, we have places to be and people to see."

When Alex didn't acknowledge him, he stepped over to the bed. "Cub," Matt said dangerously. "I am not in the mood-"

Alex, quite literally, stumbled out of bed and ran for the bathroom. He slammed the bathroom door closed as he fell to the floor. He puked up what little food he had the night before into the toilet, and after that he just kept dry heaving.

Matt sighed and made his way over to the bathroom, and tapped on the door. "Cub, are you all alright?" alright

Alex groaned and flicked him off as he started to cough again.

Matt tried opening the door, but it was locked. "Cub, you know I don't tolerate locked doors. No matter though, I will let this one slide for now. Just be ready in twenty minutes, I may have some more medicine to help that flu."

"No..." Alex started to say, weakly. He couldn't take any more drugs. He showered as quickly as he could, holding on to the side of the shower. He was relieved to see his vision go back to normal. He quickly dressed and unlocked the bathroom door.

Matt, of course, was nowhere to be found. Alex frowned; now what would happen?

The door opened and Matt smiled. "Are you feeling better, Alex?"

Alex glared at him, not giving him a single verbal response.

"Is your medicine helping?"

It's not medicine... even if it is I shouldn't be taking it... "Yeah, it's helping you control me, if that's what you mean," Alex snapped, losing his temper suddenly. "I don't take medicine - it's not in my file..."

"It is in your file, Alex. It's not up to you to decide what is best for you and what is not. Up until the age of eighteen you are a minor under my care and Jeff's - that means you have three years to go. I suggest that you answer my question honestly. Is the medicine helping you?"

"No."

Matt reached over, grabbed Alex by the hood of his sweatshirt, and flung him to the floor. "It's medicine, Cub. It helps you. Now let's go get some breakfast, shall we?"

Alex swallowed as he stood up, hesitating even as he accompanied Matt. He had to get out of here... but how? He had to somehow contact Wolf. He wondered again if Wolf was truly broken and doubted it. The K-Unit's leader had put up with worse, he knew, and Alex prayed that he was just pretending like he was broken to act like he could escape.

If he wasn't, Alex would personally kick his ass back into shape just so the two of them could escape. True, he wasn't a fan of Wolf, but anything was better than here. And while Matt and Jeff had his custody 'legally', they had kidnapped Wolf.

His attention was once again drawn back to the table where he had been awarded some eggs and some toast, as well as the dreaded pills all lined up in a pill counter and a glass of water. He glanced uncertainly at Matt.

"Take the pills first," Matt instructed him. Alex looked at him nervously, and touched the pills. "Just take them, already. You already wasted enough time with your bathroom stunt, we don't have time to play around like this."

Alex sighed and took the pills, drinking the whole glass of water with it. "I wasn't wasting time, I was throwing up from the drugs that you gave me - not medicine - drugs! Then I took a shower. I would hardly put that in the category of playing around."

"I'm sure you think these are drugs because of your reaction to them, but trust me when I say that they're in your best interest, Alex."

"In what - in your best interest to control me? I think not." Alex snapped. "By the way do you have some kind of fetish with drugs or something?" He was pleased to see the man's body tense at 'fetish.'

"Shut up and eat your breakfast, or lose your privilege," was all Matt snapped in return.

Alex glared at him, but nevertheless did as he said. He hoped that he wouldn't be beaten for his statement, but he couldn't just hold his tongue while he was being force-fed medicine that was supposedly good for his health.

Alex ate the rest of his breakfast, staring at the table, trying to think of a way Matt could be more obvious with the vulture stare of his. He really wanted to keep an eye on him, and Alex didn't know why. Honestly he could care less, but it was starting to freak him out.

"Alex," Matt said as he was finished. He paused, and took Alex's bowl over to the sink. "Are you going to be a good boy today? We have to meet some friends of mine and I need you in a good mood."

"Define what exactly a 'good mood' is?" Alex asked, wondering if he should stop firing off the first thing that comes to mind when Matt talked to him. It might actually save his life if he put more thought into the answers he was supplying Matt.

Luckily for him, or unluckily, Matt only ran his hand through Alex's hair and smiled as Alex yanked away. "Seems like you're in one," he said cheekily. "Let's go."

## break ##

Alex Rider sighed as he trailed Matt, who was walking at a fast-clipped pace. The parcel that he had been forced to carry hadn't escaped Alex's attention. It was a well-designed box - brown and taped firmly shut, with the words: fragile, were written on the side. Alex had no idea what was in there and didn't want to. He had a strong feeling it was drugs.

"Oh, hi, Matt! Is this one of your new kids?" another cheerful associate asked, the badge on his shirt identifying him as 'Benjamin Daniels.' Alex glanced up at him and quickly glanced down again, praying the SAS man hadn't recognized him.

"Yeah, not very talkative, this one. Just got him yesterday; his foster home needed a break from him already... we're just here to deliver a parcel to Mark, third floor."

The all-too-cheerful Benjamin Daniels smiled. "What's your name, kid?"

Matt glared at Alex, awaiting an answer just as much as Ben. Alex didn't know whether he should say his slave name, or his actual name. If he said either one, they would be likely to tip Ben off as to who he really was. On Matt's side of things, it could make him found out for the bastard he really is.

Luckily, Matt saved him, sensing his frustration. He was seemingly oblivious to the tension that Alex had in his gut. "This is Cub, we just got him in yesterday. We had to go far and dig up his actual name- his parents never called him that -poor thing."

Ben raised his eyebrows about six inches and Alex shifted uncomfortably. "Well, good to meet you, Cub. Will you be staying with Matt awhile?" The tone of Ben's voice had changed ever so slightly and Alex realized the SAS man had recognized Alex but was not revealing either of their hands.

"Umm, I'm not entirely sure. My other foster home is expecting me back soon," Alex said, and sent a slight glare towards Matt, who either didn't see it, or refused to acknowledge it.

Smiling, Ben looked back and forth and then responded, "Well, that's great. I'll see you again soon!" before releasing the doors to allow them onto the next floor.

"What did you think of him, Alex? You did good. He was someone you were allowed to speak too," Matt responded. There was a sick smile on his face that made Alex's stomach churn.

Alex repressed a sigh and thought about the life turning events that changed his: 'new life' - hell. Into: 'new life' - positively downward spiral. Even more so than when he first arrived at Jeff's. Who would have thought Ben worked for the other side? He certainly did seem like he had experience with whatever the hell you would call Matt's profession.

Alex didn't want to see him again if he was no help to him, or Wolf. Then that made him wonder...if Fox was an owner, and Wolf on the receiving end...where did Snake and Eagle fit? He hoped they weren't anywhere in this mess, that they got out of the system beforehand. He had no way to know that Ben was on a mission and would report to Mrs. Jones that he'd seen Alex.

"Well?" Matt asked, snapping Alex out of his thoughts.

"I'm sorry, did you say something?" Alex asked confused. He had forgotten what Matt had asked him.

"Pay attention, boy. We're about to meet an important client. What I asked you doesn't matter; just forget about it. I hope you liked him, though, because he's going to be your tutor for the next few weeks. He helps me with my slave business. You'd better address this man as sir and address yourself as Cub here, got it?"

"Yes sir," Alex told him. So they were going to meet another client? Alex couldn't wait, and by that he didn't want to go at all.

"I can see you're excited about it, anyway." He knocked on the door and the door opened. The man greeted Matt and the two went inside.

"So, this is your new one? What happened to the old brat?"

"Oh, he's doing well. He's at Jeff's. Introduce yourself," Matt ordered Alex with a rough shake on his shoulder.

Alex sized the man up, and roughly concluded that he wouldn't be able to take them both and run away. No, this guy was huge! Standing at least a few feet taller than himself, and no doubt doubling his weight. He looked down at Alex and frowned. Well at least Alex knew he was serious and didn't do fake smiles; or in Matt's case, smirks. This guy was tough, and Alex hoped he was nicer than the previous people he had met in the past few weeks. He had no idea how wrong he was.

"Cub, sir," he said and shifted a little when the man glared at him.

"He's new, isn't he?"

Matt smirked. "I'm still working on breaking him in." With that, Matt removed the box from Alex's hands and placed it on the desk. "Your requested items are in there. Alex, why don't you have a seat? I'd like to talk with someone else in the building... and Mr. Heft can fill you in on some of the goals of the organization."

"I'm not a dog," Alex told him. His tone of voice was bitter and he swallowed, hoping he wouldn't be beaten for that statement.

Mr. Heft raised an eyebrow at Matt, who was about to depart. "You really haven't broken him in yet, have you?"

"I was hoping you could help," Matt responded as he closed the door behind him.

Alex, not wanting to be beaten, nor be near the man, hastily retreated to his seat.

Mr. Heft smirked. "What do you know of our organization, Cub?" he asked, sneering the word.

"Well, Mr. Heft, do you want my honest opinion...or the truth?" Alex asked.

"The truth, of course."

"Great, because there really isn't a difference," Alex told him. "Not with the way you guys run things. First off, you take kids for hostage through the foster care system. While they are under your care they are forced to become mere dogs and sell drugs to stay alive! You're blackmailing children though other people, weaving in and out of the system. Just so you can earn a buck! It's disgusting and by far the most inhumane occurrence I have came across," Alex snapped at him. He noticed that he had stood sometime during his little speech. He huffed and sat back down again.

"Let me ask you a question, Cub. Has Matt ever forced you to sell drugs?"

"Well no, but-" he got interrupted.

"So you do it on your own free will?"

"I haven't sold drugs!" Alex said, leaping up out of his seat with his fist clenched. He let it drop after he noticed it. "Not since I've been here! But Matt makes me take drugs!"

"I see, and you deny the fact that you are addicted to drugs because..."

Alex sank back helplessly onto his seat. What should he say? He knew that Matt would no doubt punish him because of his little performance in here - well, he may as well go all out and make Matt punish him. After all, he was into pushing the envelope right? He leaked false tears into his eyes and sat up again.

"I was at one point, but I'm not now. I haven't taken anything since I've been here... except for what Matt made me... they made me really sick... I just don't want to be here." He wanted to sound like a pathetic, helpless kid, because that was exactly how he felt at the moment. The fact that he had never been addicted to drugs didn't matter; his cover had and he needed to keep it.

"There's no use lying kid. If you've sold drugs, you're likely to become addicted to them. It's just a fact. Take that other kid for example...I think his name was Monotaro. He was on the streets for who knows how long, selling and taking drugs. Matt soon took him in, and the brat was grateful. So why aren't you?" Mr. Heft eyed him.

What should he say to that?

"Because I wasn't on the streets, sir," Alex said. He knew what he was doing, backing out and making himself look like a chicken. On purpose. "I had a family..." he let his voice trail off and look down to the ground. It would be better for him to agree now, wouldn't it? "I'm sorry. You're right. I'm grateful to Matt..."

If you believe that, I'm lying through my teeth, Alex thought desperately.

"Damn kid, you need to work on getting your facts straight. If you're so grateful, act like it," Mr. Heft told Alex knowing that he was lying, terribly.

Alex was beginning to hope that Matt would soon come back, not knowing that Matt had left the two of them alone for an hour or so to 'get acquainted' and so Mr. Heft could let Alex know exactly what would happen if he stepped too far out of line. "And how am I supposed to do that?" he asked shakily.

"Why should I tell you? You seem like a hands on kind of person, so I think finding out for yourself would be a great learning opportunity. Getting roughed up a bit won't kill you...much."

Alex stood up and started backing away. "No... no... I'm sorry... no." He decided that now would be a good time to stop with his rebellion; Mr. Heft obviously wasn't going to help him.

Mr. Heft got up and within a few seconds was right next to Alex. "Would you just sit down and shut up?" Mr. Heft grabbed his arm and hauled him back to the chair he was just at. Roughly pushing him down, he took his own position, across from Alex.

Alex swallowed nervously and refrained from speaking, praying that Matt would get back as soon as possible. That was one prayer he had never thought that he would pray... but desperate times called for desperate measures.

"Well Alex, do you think you'll get out of this alive?"

"Out of this room alive? Of course," Alex retorted, using false bravado to cover up the fact that he was terrified. He stood up and started for the door, but his hand latched on the door just as Mr. Heft's voice came after him.

"Well, well, well, aren't you special?" Mr. Hefts voice taunting him. Alex turned around, to ask him what he was talking about, but he took a swift punch to the jaw. He tumbled a step before he tripped over something.

Now flat on his back he gazed up at Mr. Heft, who was frowning again. "Tell me Cub, what makes you different from all the rest? From the dozens of punks I've met that have had a tie to Matt that walk through, and then most of them don't walk out. So have you got what it takes to walk out of here on your own two feet?" Mr. Heft asked. Alex was going to reply that he didn't know but stopped himself.

If he was going to get beaten anyway there may as well be a reason, right?

"I..." Alex started to say but turned around. "I could walk out of this door right now. I could..."

"Hmm, I hate new slaves, always so naive to the way of life," Mr. Heft said. He lifted up his foot, and Alex thought he was going to step over him, but he stepped on him.

His stomach lurched in protest as Mr. Hefts foot came down. Twice, three times. Alex cried out in surprise and in shock. His ribs hurt, and Alex hoped that they were just bruised and not broken. He didn't doubt that Matt wouldn't take him to the hospital, for 'his mistake'.

He breathed a sigh of relief as Mr. Heft stopped kicking him. Alex curled up into himself and closed his eyes in pain. Then, much to his surprise, and pain, Mr. Heft kicked him again. And again. And again.

And then he passed out.


	5. So Sorry

**A/N: Thank you to everyone who has reviewed this far. Sorry for the delay in updating. A large portion of this is finished, and we will attempt to update once week. However, Writer With Sprite often does the actual updating, and she's been buried under schoolwork lately. Anything you'd like to say about that, Sprite?**

**Writer with Sprite: "….Sleep…."**

**And now that we're done with that, let's bring up something that one of our wonderful reviewers, insomniac, pointed out. Yes, Alex's withdrawal concept is wrong. Remember that he's only fifteen, and while accused of being a druggy, has little experience with how drugs react. Also, Writer With Sprite is graduating this week from an MHAD program with an associate's degree, and she's taken courses in drugs and alcohol, so she has some idea of how they're viewed. Thanks to the positive comments from Tedrenia, Rider Rules, ****Savannah Tarr****, ****Jellie Smiff****, and ****Anonomon13****. If you liked this story, please check out the original work of Torn Apart Paper Dinosaur and Writer With Sprite.**

**Dinosaur, anything to say?**

**Torn Apart Paper Dinosaur: "Rawr!" **

**Now that we're done with that, onto the story. Really. Now the action starts. **

* * *

**CHAPTER FIVE**

As soon as Alex opened his eyes and observed the bright lights above him and the polished white ceiling tiles, he knew he was in a rough spot. He groaned in pain as he tried to move and wrap his arm around his stomach, but half way over his arm stopped.

He jerked it, and a clicking sound met his ears. He closed his eyes and sighed, not wanting to know what was limiting his movements, yet he already knew that answer. Holding his arm out as far as he could, he saw the metal that had wrapped itself around his thin wrist.

He gasped as the hand-cuff hit something, pain racing up his arm. Looking down, he found the source; an IV. His memory was a little fuzzy, but he could place that Matt left him with Mr. Heft and he got angry...okay, he was pissed. But Alex could think of why? He jumped when someone spoke up, on the other side of the room.

"Sorry about that." The voice was entirely too familiar. Damn it - it was Matt. The voice didn't sound sorry at all. The door opened again and someone else came in. Alex blinked, not recognizing him at first.

"Do you have anyone who can take him for a week or so?" Matt asked, gesturing at Alex.

The figure looked distinctly uncomfortable. It wasn't until he spoke that Alex recognized him. "Yeah, I have a... friend who can take him. He'll be in good hands there."

"I am not property!" Alex growled, loudly, as he sat up in bed, only to become restricted by the handcuff. He in turn, glared at said person: Joshua Edgerton, aka: Snake. He could see Snake's name on his badge.

Snake just raised an eyebrow and glanced at Matt, who sighed and glared at Alex.

"Now, Cub, _behave_," Matt sneered. He turned back to Snake. "Would it be possible for me to speak to this person before I leave?"

"How soon do you have to leave?"

"Within the next hour."

Snake nodded. "I'll call him and see if it's a possibility. Barring any complications Cub should be able to get out of the hospital today..." He almost darted out of the room.

"Get me out of these handcuffs," Alex ordered Matt even as he tugged helplessly at them. Matt only chuckled before pressing his hand against Alex's bicep.

"Are you going to behave while you're gone?" he asked.

"Define 'behave'," Alex said, gritting his teeth. He shifted uncomfortably against Matt's gaze and touch. He _hated_ Matt.

"Behave as in not attempt to run away?"

"I wouldn't count on it."

Matt only chuckled. Snake came back in and Alex almost blanched at the person he saw.

No way.

No fucking way.

"You've met Mr. Johnson before, right?"

Matt nodded.

"Matt, I heard that you need some assistance?"

Alex stared at Mr. Johnson. No, not Mr. Johnson, he was Eagle! What the hell was K-Unit doing?

"Yes, you see I have business to attend to, and I need someone to watch over Cub," Matt told Eagle.

Alex repressed a smirk as Eagle stiffened and glanced at him. Alex gave him a mock wave.

"Of course," Eagle said after he controlled himself.

"Now," Matt pulled out this huge bottle. He handed them to Eagle, "this is his medicine. No doubt he would try and tell you some outrageous lie about how he doesn't need it. But he does. In there are his anti-depressant pills, with some of his own painkillers. He always gets sick from the hospital prescribed ones."

Eagle nodded, taking in all the information.

"Oh yes, the rules he is supposed to follow. To show respect, he is not supposed to talk unless he is spoken to. He can only have breakfast and dinner, as a part of his diet, and he takes all five pills with every meal. If he starts to puke, that's because he stuck his finger down his throat. He has a problem, so if that happens, you did nothing wrong. He is also by no means allowed to leave the house. If he does, tell me after and I will deal with it. He is supposed to be in bed by eight too. That seems to be it," Matt finished his lecture.

Eagle nodded. "Won't be a problem," he said, planning on dismissing half of the rules.

"Only in your dreams," Alex retorted angrily, causing all three of the adults to eye him . Matt rolled his eyes and left, closing the door behind him. Maybe, now, he could finally start to get some answers.

"Eagle," Snake said, "I'm signing Cub out into your care now. Cub, Eagle can explain everything if he can concentrate instead of acting like a hyperactive toddler that he is... Eagle, disregard half of what Matt says, and before you feed Cub any of the pills, I want to check them first."

Alex heaved a sigh of relief and thought, _K-Unit advocating for him? Something was up, that was for sure. _"What do you get out of it - some play toy?"

"How about I help you out of these cuffs and you get dressed," Eagle remarked, "and we can talk in the car where we won't be overheard."

"I'll go and sign him out," Snake responded.

"I'm not property that you can sign in and out!" Alex Rider yelled furiously, blushing only when Eagle looked at him.

"What are these drugs, Kid?" he asked.

"No clue, I never asked. Although I can be sure that they aren't anti-depressants or pain killers," Alex grumbled, as Eagle unhooked the cuffs, and Alex rubbed the chafed skin.

"What happens when you take them?" Eagle asked. "I may have to give them to you once or Matt may catch on to me. I'll explain everything in the car, where we won't be overheard."

"Well Eagle have you ever taken drugs before?" Alex asked as he threw his regular shirt on.

"Only legal ones. Which I'm guessing these are supposed to be?"

Alex started laughing, before it turned into pain, then he started to choke. "Heh, Eagle do you really think Matt even _has_ legal drugs?"

"...No?"

"My point made," Alex told him.

"Actually, it's not," Eagle remarked reasonably. "You still haven't told me what happens when you take them."

"Well, have you ever been on a r roller coaster...and just minutes before eaten something?" Alex questioned.

"No... not since... that time my mom warned me about the cotton candy in second grade... Can't you just TELL ME?"

"Fine, Eagle. It is absolute hell! I don't know how to be more specific than that!" Alex told him.

Snake ducked his head in the door. "Are you asking him about the side effects of the drugs, Eagle?"

Eagle nodded in response to his comrade's question.

"Okay, Cub. I put a sheet in your discharge folder that has some typical side effects of prescription drugs. Now, I'm betting these aren't prescription. I'm taking the container now for analysis and we'll see if we can get a lookalike that doesn't make you feel like crap, Cub."

"Thanks, I think." It was clear Alex didn't mean it. Deciding it best to ignore the tone of voice, Snake turned towards Eagle.

"Have you heard from Wolf?"

"Not since - two days ago. He hasn't checked in with you either?"

Snake shook his head. "No."

"Wait...you guys don't know where Wolf is?" Alex asked, confused. In a way it would make sense...but then that would mean that Wolf _wasn't_ supposed to be there that day at the switch... which meant...

"Shit, gotta take this, it's from Fox. Eagle, take him back to your house, will you?" The SAS man nodded.

Eagle nodded and took the empty prescription bottle and motioned for Cub to start following him out the door.

"Wait, you guys never told me what you thought happened to Wolf," Alex told Snake, who was on the phone.

Snake pressed a finger to his lips. "Shh. What, Fox? Wait, _what_? You're fucking kidding me, right?"

The look on Eagle's face grew concerned. Snake shut the door. "Dammit, Fox. No. I realize... you're buying him? How'd you manage that? Heh. He scared his 'owner' already? Doesn't surprise me... oh, wait. Okay. So he's with you then... Well, you needed a slave anyway right? Yeah, I know with your cover it'll be awkward... look, we'll work it all out later, alright?" Snake hung up the phone.

"What happened?" Alex and Eagle demanded at the same time.

"Fox bought Wolf from somebody named Jeff... I guess you don't know who that is, Cub. Eagle, explain it to him? I have to get back on shift."

Alex scoffed, "Save your breath, Eagle, I know plenty about him."

The two made their way to the car. Eagle opened up the door for Alex. It was only after a quick sweep of the car that Eagle asked his next question. "How do you know so much about him, then?"

"That was my first stop in the system," Alex told him as he put on his seat belt.

"The system?"

"You know, foster care and such. Jeff's tender loving care is what I woke up to one morning. Or night actually."

"Wait... I thought that - Wolf said you had parents..." Eagle glanced over at him as he steered his car onto the road and out of the parking lot.

"...We all have parents, Eagle. Mine just happened to decide I was ready for real-world responsibilities at the age of ten, which the government disagreed with."

"Okay, you're going to have to give me some back story to work with, Kid. I know Wolf ran into you at that one crazy boarding school. I thought MI6 was looking out for you or some shit like that - what happened?"

"Well, that was a lie. MI6 was... using me... I guess you could say..." Alex let out a breath.

Eagle just looked at him, "Explain," he demanded.

Alex sighed, and continued to lie. Well MI6 was using him...or had been... so that part wasn't a total lie. "Well, when my parents left, I was on my own for a while, before I got caught selling drugs for money at school. The government then put me in the system, and after moving from one foster care to the next, it became a routine. But then four years later, I stumbled onto Jeff's porch. A few more things happened, and here I am. And for the record, how did Jeff become a caretaker? As well as Matt? Because they are not fit out to be reliable parents."

"We know Cub, it's one of the many things we're looking into. And holy shit, you sold drugs? Damn. Wolf will be impressed; he thought you were a goody-two-shoes. And don't you _dare_ tell Snake that I said that. Drugs are bad, Cub-"

"Got that," Alex snapped irritably. "I didn't say I _took_ them," he added.

"Anyway - we think that Jeff and Matt became caretakers. Matt was a social worker first when he got handed the job of getting kid's homes... he met up with Jeff - we still don't know where. Somewhere or another they decided to take the kids in because of a few factors. One, there would be virtually no suspicion about them. Matt would pass off kids to Jeff whose families had abandoned them for one reason or another. Between the two of them they would break the kid and use them to process drugs... That's about all I know." Eagle sighed as he checked his GPS. "We're almost to my flat. My undercover name is Michael Johnson, but don't worry about that as you'll have to call me 'Sir.' I'm pretty sure that my house is bugged, so I'll have to punish you if you call me Eagle... it'd seem like a sign of disrespect."

"Yeah, well either way, Matt is a psychopath, and Jeff is his minion. And I expected much, to call you 'sir' …and Matt had a discussion over the meaning and how it showed respect...it didn't end well."

Eagle snorted. "He can keep believing that all he wants. What type of _discussion_ did you have?"

"Err..basic rules, like the ones he told you in the hospital-" Alex was cut off by Eagle.

"I meant, do I have to patch up any bruises?"

"No, not to my knowledge...though do you do mental scanning? Because my brain could use some healing from all the random drugs he's been feeding me."

Eagle grew solemn at Alex's comment. "Unfortunately, no. Snake will be taking a look at those. I'll give you some _real pain _pills to take every morning. Snake prescribed them to me, well, to you, and made sure they're real. Hey... Cub. Question. What made you decide it was a good idea to sell drugs?"

"You mean like back when I started?"

"Yes."

"Well we are in a demanding country Eagle...and drugs don't just grow on trees, so it was for profit. Plus that's all my parents did, so I guess it passed down."

"And I'm guessing you don't want anything to do with it now."

"I don't think I wanted anything to do with it then, either," Alex said softly as he made his way out of the car.

"Well, here we are," Eagle said, completely changing the topic, "Home, sweet home."

"Really? Because from the looks of things, in this home you're the owner, and I'm your slave. Tell me exactly how that's 'sweet'?"

"Well, I'd go into detail, but I think that my buddies would shoot me for corrupting a minor," Eagle said, all seriousness. "Besides, I'll actually feed you."

Alex shut up.

He had a point. Alex did enjoy the fact that he would be getting food. His stomach growled in protest just then and he blushed slightly forgetting the last time he had eaten anything.

"So, food first, business later," Eagle concluded. "And since I'm a horrible cook, you should make dinner. Mine tends to set off the smoke alarms and burn the pans straight through."

"I'll cook, but only cook. I'm not your maid."

"Actually," Eagle corrected, "you are."

Alex shrugged, "Guess we will find out...just don't call me a dog."

"Aw, come on, kid. Don't make me beat you," Eagle said, and then pointed up towards the ceiling, where there rested a nice security camera, watching their every move and every comment.

"I'm sorry," Alex told him, staring at the ground. Before he turned his back to the camera and looked at Eagle. He mouthed out: _Starve._

* * *

A/N: Hopefully you can see that Alex hasn't lost his fight yet. I hope you enjoy!

Challenge: What would make a good summary for the story?

Deal: You review our story, Writer With Sprite will look at your profile and will review one of your stories. You scratch our back… we scratch yours.

Enjoy! If you like this check out our individual works. They're updated much faster. WWS is aiming to update this sometime mid-week next week, however may be pressured into updating it sooner if there are more reviews. **REVIEW! **Enjoy the powers of the new review button.


	6. Stronger Than You See

**_A/N: We were actually going to post this tomorrow, but Writer With Sprite bribed Torn Apart Paper Dinosaur into posting it tonight. We hope you enjoy. Any comments from our staff?_  
**

**_Sprite: Sleep...  
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**_Dinosaur: RAWR!  
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**_So the usual then. And now onto the next chapter...  
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**CHAPTER SIX**

Alex groaned as he awoke, stiffly taking in his location. Oh, yeah, that was right, he had been moved to Eagle's house. Still half asleep, he lazily stretched his arm to reach his pillow, stopping only when he hit the head of the bed. It felt so nice to say that he got to sleep in a bed again. Oh, yeah, and the added perks concluded that he got his own room, too.

Sighing, he checked his watch. It was six o'clock and time to get up. Eagle felt bad but admitted to Alex that they had to "look good" so that Alex had to be on a schedule similar to the one he had been on, albeit with a bit more sleep. Eagle didn't know who was watching him and couldn't take the chance that someone saw him being too kind.

Shivering, Alex closed his eyes. He then opened them, cursing loudly as he stubbed his toe on something. "Shit," he muttered, shoving his toe into his worn sneakers. When he had arrived in his foster care house, on the second day, in addition to everything else that had happened, Jeff had taken away his old clothes and given him "new" ones. The "new" ones were basically fine but were not really... well... wonderful.

But at least they were something.

Alex shrugged on his blue hooded sweatshirt and sat back down on the bed. Like Matt's place, this room had key-card access. Eagle had told Alex last night that Matt had only requested that he be watched for two days. Snake had run an analysis of the drugs and determined that while the side affects would be awful, at least for Alex, there was nothing they could use to replace them and that the drugs weren't hazardous to his health.

Needless to say, Alex wasn't looking forward to having them for breakfast.

Alex was rewarded a minute later with a brief, hesitant knock on the door and then a key card swipe. "Hey, Cub. Are you ready?" Eagle asked. He ran his hand through his hair and Alex couldn't help but notice that he looked exhausted.

Alex nodded. He and Eagle has established some of their own 'ground rules' last night because of Matt's crazy ones.

"We're having visitors this morning, please cook for four," Eagle responded. When Alex's stomach rumbled, Eagle rolled his eyes and added, "Yes, that includes you, too."

Alex smirked slightly and made his way to the kitchen, "What would you prefer?"

Eagle paused, having not given much thought to it. "Uh... eggs and hash browns... Ben and his slave will be over so make plenty. I'm going to take a shower, if you get into any trouble or burn the house down, I'll make sure there will be hell to pay," he threatened.

"Sure, I will make sure that doesn't happen, sir," Alex told him as he got out a pan and the necessary ingredients.

"And no stunts, Cub," Eagle added.

Alex waved his hand as he cracked an egg. "I got it, go shower, Sir," he told Eagle.

Eagle walked away, to what Alex presumed was the bathroom, out of sight. Alex sighed as he watched the eggs cook. While having Eagle as his 'owner' was better than Jeff, and by far a greater opportunity than with Matt, he was annoyed that someone, probably Matt, was watching their every move. Alex and Eagle would have to play their respective roles for the time being. The doorbell rang and Alex froze; should he get it or not? He swallowed, trying to focus on his role and what someone in his role would do.

It was then that the door opened and Alex glanced around for a weapon. Grabbing a knife off of the counter he peeked around the corner, into the living room.

"Hey! Knife down, kid," the stern voice of Benjamin Daniels ordered him. Wolf trailed behind. He looked much better than he had the other day.

Alex huffed and lowered the knife, knowing they weren't an immediate threat - yet. "How nice of you two to let yourselves in."

"Slaves don't talk," Ben said, threateningly.

Alex shut his mouth and just glared at Ben, before glancing shortly at Wolf. He had a serious look on his face, and Wolf ever-so-briefly - so quick anyone else would have missed it - nodded. Alex took that as a sign that Ben would do something rash if Alex didn't listen to him.

"Didn't know you were an aid kid," Ben remarked. Alex froze at the tone of his voice. "Was that why you were sent to where I last saw you? Because you were in _trouble_?" his voice held a sneering tone on the last word.

"I'm not a fucking maid, or an aid kid, whatever the hell that is," Alex told him. "Trouble follows me, it's not my fault."

"You're right, you're not a 'fucking maid,' you're a slave, and you're lucky you're not a fucking one. Where's Johnson?"

Alex chose to run a few choice words silently in his head, and didn't comment on what Ben said. "He's in the shower."

"And he left you alone? Are you sure you didn't hide him and bury the body?" Ben's voice took on a firm tone. He hated being mean but he had to play the part.

"Why is that so hard to believe? If I would have killed him, I wouldn't be ideally standing around in his house, when I could be long gone already?" Alex retorted. What the hell was wrong with Ben? Was he on PMS or something?

Ben raised an eyebrow and reached out, grabbing Alex by his ratty sweater and shoved him up against the door. "I'm going to ask you one more time, where is he?"

Wolf spoke up for the first time. "Maybe you shouldn't -"

"When I want your opinion, I'll ask for it," Ben snapped, cutting him off. He turned back to look a Alex. "Tell me where he is or I will stick your hand against this stove and burn you right now."

"Well if you wanted the truth, all you had to do was ask," Alex told him, but before he could elaborate Ben had grabbed the knife out of his hand. Alex gasped as Ben shoved the rather large knife into Alex's left hand.

Wolf watched in horror as the scene played before him. Ben was being pretty serious about this whole 'character' thing, and Wolf briefly wondered if he should step in and stop him, but Alex's words made him wait.

"Johnson. Is. In. The. Shower," Alex told him through clenched teeth even as another door opened.

"Ben, what the hell are you doing to my charge?" Eagle demanded, stepping out. His hair was wet and it was obvious that Alex had been telling the truth. Not that Wolf had ever doubted him.

"He's not your charge, Johnson, he's your slave."

"Charge, slave, same difference." Eagle shot Cub and Wolf a look. "Maybe you two should go to Cub's room while Ben and I have a nice little conversation, huh?"

"I'm not some play thing you can just order around-" Cub broke in, but Ben's glare made him stop. "I mean, uh, yeah, Wolf and I... it's not locked, right?"

The look Eagle gave him was clear: 'no.' Alex moved towards his room and Wolf followed.

Alex slammed the door shut.

Wolf raised an eyebrow and held a finger to his lips, motioning for silence. He began a step-by-step intense methodical search of Alex's room, and finding none, he sat down by the edge of the room. "So, no bugs; we should be okay if we whisper. You want to tell me what the hell is going on, Cub?"

"You want to tell me why Ben is on the dark side?"

Wolf ran his hand through his hair. They needed information from each other, each without giving away too much detail.

"Let's play twenty questions," he remarked.

"Seriously?" Alex groaned. It was then when Wolf took a good look at the kid. He looked exhausted - like he hadn't slept in ages. His shoulders were tense. Wolf knew they had to get him out of here somehow.

"We both need information. We both don't want to give too much away. So, yes, _seriously_."

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Challenge: So - what type of questions should they ask?

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Enjoy! Review! Hit that button!


	7. Twenty Questions Game

**A/N: Torn Apart Paper Dinosaur would like to take the time to thank all readers. Writer With Sprite would as well. We both enjoyed writing this fic and LOVE that people are reading this. Thumbs up to everyone who reviewed. By the way, if Writer With Sprite still owes you some feedback/review, please let her know via a review or pm, she wants to make sure she gets everyone. Be sure and review this time; reviews are what convinced Dinosaur & Sprite to post early! **

* * *

**Chapter Seven - The Twenty Questions Game**

"Question one: Why are you here?" Wolf asked, looking at Alex. His emotion seemed to be concern tampered with a hint of suspicion. Alex resisted the urge to twist his mouth into a copy of Wolf's sneer.

"Because I got put into foster care. What you don't know about me, and couldn't have known, was that my parents sold drugs for a living. I got picked up by the government because they - my parents- kicked me out when I was just ten because they thought I was able to face 'real world responsibilities'; obviously not the case," Alex remarked. "Long story short, got caught selling drugs, you know who picked me up, decided I should work for them, did one you-know-what, got sentenced to Point Blank as a troublemaker, and then eventually wound up in Jeff's _tender and loving care_."

Wolf wasn't sure how much of Alex's story was true but wisely decided to let it go.

"Question two: why are _you_ here?"

"I got kidnapped by some people - apparently Matt's buddies," Wolf responded as he ran his hand through his hair. "Yes, 'the K' is here," he added, using a quotation mark, "on a request." Both knew exactly what he meant - the K-Unit was there on a mission. "Oh, and then I got sold to Jeff, but you knew that already. Question three: Why are you with Johnson?"

"Because Jeff decided to trade me for you, Matt ran into an emergency, and Snake had Johnson watch me while he left. Question four: Has Fox gone darkside?"

Wolf chuckled loosely. "His character has, if you catch my drift, but no, Fox has not gone 'darkside.' They don't have cookies," Wolf added bitterly. "Question five -"

Wolf stopped short as he was interrupted from someone yelling. _"I DON'T GIVE A FUCK!"_

Alex winced, and glanced at Wolf, "Eagle," he whispered.

"_WELL - IF YOU DID YOUR JOB!"_

Wolf cleared his throat, "Fox," he told Alex. Although they didn't need any necessary introductions, they knew who was who.

Alex listened, and when he couldn't hear yelling, he turned to Wolf again. "I had no clue that Eagle could yell like that..." he whispered. "Remind me to _never _get on his bad side."

"Will do," he nodded.

"Question five: How often does Johnson-Eagle yell like that? I have to put up with him. Is he abusive?" Alex asked, "forgetting" that it was Wolf's turn to ask the question.

"It was my turn," Wolf told him, discovering his motive. "But, to answer your question, Johnson doesn't usually yell, he is pretty mellow, most of the time. Other than that, I would say Fox is the one whose abusive...speaking of Fox," Wolf trailed off, and glanced at Alex's hand. "Your hand okay?"

"Is that a question?" Alex joked.

Wolf grunted, "No, I get two since you took mine. Now answer the question, does your hand hurt?"

"No," Alex said as he brought it up, seeing the blood run down it, and slowly drip to the floor.

"Right..." Wolf trailed off. "You have a first aid kit? No that is not one of my questions, just go get one," Wolf told him as he attempted to tell him otherwise.

"I can't get out of this room," Alex informed him, "it's on key-card lock down. You think that Johnson lets me 'roam free all hours of the night? I don't have a first aid kit."

Wolf thought about it for a second, before he nodded, "All right. Then when they let us out, you have to get that checked. Next question, do you have like no nerves in your hand? Because damn Cub, that is a lot of blood."

Alex glared at Wolf before wrapping it in one of the pillowcases. "Happy now? You used all six thousand questions on my hand. And to answer your question I have had worse from Matt. Speaking of which, question seven, what did they do to you at Matt's house and at Jeff's? I swore to God I thought you were, I don't know, broken when I saw you!"

Wolf scoffed, "It's like you don't know me at all Cub." Wolf ignored the obvious cough that stated: 'because I don't' from Alex, he continued. "I wasn't 'broken' as you put it. I never will be, got it? At Matt's, they just told me not to say anything and stuck me in a basement, some guy came and said there was a buyer, Jeff, and I followed... I was just so shocked to see you Cub... I honestly didn't know what to do. But you're one to talk, Cub! You're the one that seemed broken that day we swapped."

Alex snorted at the idea. "Only at seeing _you_ broken. I thought if they had broken you there was no way I would survive here as an 'aid kid.' Plus, Jeff had drugged me only an hour beforehand. Now the other question. What happened at Jeff's? And don't yell at me for using two questions, you used six on my hand." Alex's said hand was wrapped in a white sheet that was already starting to bleed through.

"That sucks... I'm sorry Cub, I didn't know... As for what happened at Jeff's, well he shoved me into a room, and left me there. I must have crashed 'cause the following morning I woke up at Fox's."

Wolf left out the part about thinking Monotaro was Alex.

They were interrupted by a loud yell and scream. "Damn it, Benjamin! I am _trying_ to help this organization - I am _not_ a child abuser! That's sick!"

"Perhaps we should go interrupt them?" Wolf asked nervously.

"You're forgetting that we're on lock down," Alex retorted, and took a seat on the floor, since Wolf had taken his bed. "Besides, let them fight. Maybe they'll kill each other."

"Next question," Wolf told him, only to be interrupted by Alex.

"Didn't you have your question?"

"No. I answered _your_ question about being at Matt's and Jeff's. Now, next question -"

"I SWEAR TO GOD I WILL BREAK THIS DOOR DOWN AND KILL YOU RIGHT NOW!" Benjamin swore. "Damn it, Johnson! I'm not asking you to kill the kid or anything!"

Wolf coughed, "I think he's talking about you..."

"Really, what gave you that idea?" Alex glared at him. "Now, is that your question, Sherlock? Because as you pointed out earlier, we don't have all fucking day!"

"Fine, why aren't you still in school?"

Alex's voice was sulky. "Because, Matt and Jeff believe in _homeschooling_. Which for Jeff means education on how to run drugs and for Matt means education five hours, two days a week. Crap," he added, "I think Ben is supposed to be my tutor. My question-" he stopped for a minute to think. "Why is 'K' here?" He knew they had to keep the SAS members on as little mentioned as possible. Sure they weren't being monitored, but it was for the best.

"I'm not going to let you tutor him if you're going to _burn his damn hand on the stove_ because you're impatient with him!" came Johnson's abrupt cry.

Wolf's eyes lingered on the locked door, before he told Alex, "Yeah, good luck with Ben. 'K' is here on said request. But if you must know details, it involves Matt, and Jeff, and now _you._ And it was supposed to involve me, but my role got flipped when Matt kidnapped me. He's a jackass, by the way. Question: What happened to you while you were at Matt's?" he wanted to compare Monotaro's story to Alex's.

Alex raised an eyebrow at the question. "I don't know if you should ask that; I have to go back there soon... He fed me twice a day, I got my own bedroom. Honestly for me it was nicer than Jeff's... but he gave me these weird drugs... and I felt sick. I was asleep for most of the time. Oh yeah, and he left me alone with this guy and I ended up in the hospital as a result. Question: Do you think I'll ever be able to have a life after this is over? And why did you ask what happened... at Matt's?"

He wrapped his legs a little more tightly around him at that comment.

Wolf didn't know how to comment on Alex's answer. It sounded as if Matt's ways hadn't changed one bit. However he hoped he hadn't hurt Alex to the point of no return, if he even laid a finger on Alex, then Wolf would personally hunt him down and beat him to death.

That was a promise he silently made to himself. He sighed at Alex's question...was it even one that he could answer honestly and get the outcome they both wanted? He thought about his job as a soldier, and how it now related to this 'case' they were on...or this hell they were paying, together.

"Yes Alex, you _will_ have a life after this. We will get out of this together, that much I can promise."

With that their game of twenty questions was over as the door opened. Eagle looked less than pleased as he stepped through. "_Benjamin_ wants to tutor you today, Cub."

"I was instructed too by Matt."

"On _Mondays_ and _Fridays_ - it is _Thursday_. Thur-sday. You can play with Cub another day. Wolf, Benjamin is ready to leave. Call Matt on me all you want, and no, I'm not abusing the kid unless he does something wrong." Eagle crossed his arms.

"Well, Thur-sday, is close enough to Friday. He already missed Monday. I would say you need to change your tactics a bit, because he needs to learn to respect his elders," Ben told Eagle.

"I can respect my _elders_ just fine," Alex sneered. The blood flowing from his hand had finally stopped but the bandage was blood red. "You just aren't one of my elders-"

Alex managed to respond just in time as Ben lunged at him. He took a step back as Eagle caught Ben by the arm, and Wolf stood up blocking Alex between the other two.

"Go," Eagle ordered. "He can have his tutoring when Matt comes back. Don't come back here again."

Ben looked torn with his decision as the fire detector went off.

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	8. Jeff Likes To Talk

**A/N: It seems like the offer of sneak peaks were well liked by reviewers. See bottom for that note. Also, did you know we got an image for our story now? Anyway, we're glad that you're enjoying, and hope that you have a fun time reading. We were originally going to post on Friday, but Writer With Sprite is graduating with her associate's degree then, so it was much less hassle to post today. **

**We hope you enjoy the early update! **

**Chapter Eight**

"Shit," Eagle muttered as the smoke detector sounded again. "Leave and don't come back until after I talk with Matt." Disgruntled, Ben motioned for Wolf to follow out and they slammed the door shut. Eagle grabbed the pan, rinsed it with water and fixed the smoke detector. "How about we go out for breakfast?" he asked.

Alex was speechless at the turn of events that had happened in such a short amount of time. With Ben spazzing out on him, and the twenty questions game...and now this. He burnt breakfast, and Eagle wasn't even mad at him. "Sure, and I'm sorry about the pan, Sir."

Eagle raised an eyebrow as the two went out the door and got in the car, which Eagle once again swept for bugs. "It's okay. Fox is playing a really, really aggressive character right now. We're trying to use him to get to the main bad guy and he has to be, well, a bad guy. Oh, shit. Let me get the first aid kit out of the back seat and get your hand taken care of, okay?"

Alex smiled, "A bad guy...okay I can deal with that...psychopath on the other hand, may take some time to get used too. And I would appreciate the first aid kit."

The hyperactive SAS member grabbed the kit out of the car and leapt back, quickly removing the bloody rag from Alex's hand. "Shit, kid, what did he do to you?"

"Stabbed me with the knife I had. I was protecting myself from strangers that just waltzed right into your house," Alex explained.

Eagle just shook his head as he quickly cleaned his hand. "No wonder why Matt wanted to get rid of you for a few days. Too much trouble."

They drove to the breakfast place and came back to the house without much incident. It wasn't until they were leaving again and in the car that Eagle dropped the bombshell. "I have to go talk to Jeff this morning."

Alex stared at Eagle then nodded. "Fine. I am not going, though."

"Cub, you have to go. We have to have our slaves accompany us everywhere, and I can't afford to break cover. I'll just explain that Matt left you with me for a few days as 'punishment' and that Jeff can't take you back."

Alex sighed as he observed Eagle's handiwork on his hand, "Alright, however I am not talking to him," he demanded. "Thanks for patching me up by the way."

"You are welcome, but you will if he or I ask you too," Eagle reminded him. "Speak to him, I mean. By the way, make up some sob story about how I treated you and be really sulky while we're there, alright? I need to look 'tough.'"

"That is one image I cannot see," Alex commented. "Yet, it's looking clearer after this morning's shouting match. But I will try to look as if I'm in pain. After all Ben just stabbed me."

"Just tell Jeff I'm giving you 'education' on 'slave training," Eagle remarked, "that it's painful and that you don't want to talk about it." He shrugged at that. "Sounds weird..." he commented thoughtfully, almost to himself.

"You're right, it does sound weird," Alex concluded. "How long are we going to be there?"

"As long as Jeff needs us. Just for a meeting though. Take your best guess and you will probably have a better shot at than I will of being right."

"My guess is a while...Jeff likes to talk," Alex told him.

"Oh, yay."

They rode the rest of the way there in silence.

## break ##

When they reached the house Eagle rang the doorbell. Jeff answered. "My, my. Are you here for the meeting today, Johnson? Who is with you?"

"Yes, I am, and this is Cub. I believe you know him."

"Yes, I do. Cub, what brings you back here so soon? Piss off Matt enough already?"

"No sir, he had business to attend too," Alex told him.

Eagle cuffed Alex on the back of his head. "What did I tell you about talking?" he crossed his arms and waited for an answer.

"Not to, sorry sir." Alex winced as his head flared in pain, he stared at the ground for the time being.

"It seems as though you have him well under control," Jeff remarked.

"I try, although he does step out of line sometimes."

Jeff huffed and looked at Alex, before Eagle, "Well, whenever he stepped out of line, I would make sure he took some of the drugs I produce. It seemed to put him in line at Matt's house."

Eagle pursed his lips together, then shook his head, "I'll keep that in mind."

"Yeah, you really should." Eagle glanced up at the next car that arrived.

It was Ben.

Shit.

Alex had to stop himself from glaring at him. He had to remind himself of the conversation Eagle and him had a few minutes ago, Fox might be a psychopath in character. But as it goes from here, none of them could do anything about it.

"How are you doing, little Cub?" Ben asked, twisting his arm hard behind his back, forcing Alex to gasp in pain.

"Get off of me, you sorry son of a bit-"

"Cub! What did I say about talking? Ben, stop attempting to abuse my charge and abuse your own slave," Eagle snapped.

"Well, it seems the two of you know each other? Well no matter, come inside. You two," Jeff referred to Wolf and Alex. "Get out of here."

Alex didn't need to be asked again. He made a hasty retreat to his old 'room' with Wolf in tow. He tried the doorknob, but it was locked.

"The hell-"

Another room a few doors down opened up, and Monotaro poked his head out. "In here."

Alex glanced at Wolf, who shrugged in response. He waved his hand out in front of him, and Alex took the lead.

Once they were in Monotaro's room, he closed the door, and pushed the small desk in front of it. Alex didn't have a chance to ask what was going on, before he was enveloped in a hug.

Alex realized it was Monotaro who had hugged him, "You're here."

"Yes..." Alex replied, not understanding.

"You're here, alive."

"Oh... umm, thanks..." Alex flinched away.

"What happened to your hand?" Monotaro asked hurtful as he looked at it.

Alex glanced down before looking at Monotaro. "Nothing. Don't mention it. Please."

Monotaro nodded. "I'm sorry I brought it up."

Wolf cut in. "What do you guys want to do while they are in the meeting?"

"What is there to do?" Alex questioned.

"We need to talk about you two and Matt and Jeff," Wolf said.

Alex didn't fail to notice that Monotaro's face had gone pale. "No-" Alex said, only to be cut off by Monotaro.

"Alex, I'm sorry," Monotaro interrupted him. "If it weren't for me... You wouldn't be stuck in this situation."

"You didn't do anything to get me stuck there, Monotaro. Other than the tracking device he hasn't been that awful yet. Our lovely friend _Benjamin_has actually done much worse..." Alex stopped talking as he noticed Monotaro's pale face.

"Let's all sit down," Wolf responded.

Monotaro went to sit on the floor, and Wolf repositioned him towards the mattress, "Sit," he commanded. Alex sat next to him, and then glanced at Wolf as he leaned against the wall.

"I need to know what happened to each of you at Matt's house because I need to know how to deal with everything," Wolf said. He cleared his throat. "Okay, Monotaro. You start."

"I-I don't think." Monotaro glanced at Alex, who sat nearly two feet away from him.

Wolf let out a breath, "Look, I was there for two hours or something crazy. That was all I was awake. Will one of you PLEASE start?"

"Well, I have basically told my story," Alex told them.

"We are all sharing everything again," Wolf explained grumpily, knowing that there was more to Alex's story then the fact that Ben stabbed his hand. "We have about two hours and we may as well kill it getting something accomplished. What is said here, stays here unless I have to tell one of my court case buddies, understand?"

Monotaro opened his mouth, then shut it. Alex glanced at him, and waved his hand around. "Go on."

Monotaro groaned and dug the heels of his palms into his eyes. "What's your real name?" he asked Wolf as he slowly took away his hands.

"James Sinytra," Wolf said, feeling guilty for giving his undercover name, but knowing he had to stick to his cover.

Monotaro nodded, "Niles," he said curtly.

"Alex Hagan," Alex said. He swallowed. "Monotaro, do you want to share? I don't... want to go first."

Monotaro stared at his hands, they were red from the pressure he put on them. He opened his mouth, then froze up again.

"I guess what we really need to talk about is how to handle Matt and Jeff while we are still here, and come up with some coping mechanisms for dealing with them until we can get away," Wolf said. "Can you tell Alex some of what you told me, Niles?"

"Matt is a psychopath...but I'm sure you already knew that." Monotaro paused before he continued. "I would love to tell you that the drugs get better, and they do, dramatically."

Alex perked up when he heard this, knowing Matt wasn't going to stop giving them to him.

"Before it all goes downhill from there," Monotaro finished his sentence. "Yet, you really can't escape it...believe me I tried -" Monotaro stopped and sighed.

"The first time I skipped the pills, he..he found out. I-I don't know how he knew, but it was so sudden, I couldn't defend myself..." Monotaro broke off, not wanting to continue. "They won't even let you die to get away," he added softly, a tear running down his cheek. "That statement about me swallowing the bottle of painkillers was true...I want to get out of here... any way I can."

"Niles," Wolf said as he ran a hand through his hair. "Don't ever try that again. I'm fucking serious. Hey, look at me kid," Wolf snapped his fingers and Monotaro looked at him. Wolf paused, taking in his appearance. His eyes were bloodshot from crying, and he had dark rings around his eyes. The kid wasn't sleeping properly. Wolf sighed and continued. "It's not worth it. Trust me when I say we will get out of this, together."

Niles only nodded, not knowing what to say. "Now promise me you won't try it again, alright?"  
Wolf demanded.

Monotaro looked down at his hands again, they were trembling slightly. "Yeah...I-I'm sorry James...it won't happen again," he said in a whisper. "Promise."

Wolf nodded, hoping it was a promise that Monotaro could keep. "Thank you. Alex... you share."

"You're all give and no take in this situation, aren't you?" Alex asked as he raised an eyebrow. "Fine. Matt treated me basically okay until I refused to take his stupid drugs. Then he said it was that or - I forget what. So I took them. And he watches me with a camera in my room. And he got _furious_because I said that I was taking a shower..." Alex let out a frustrated breath.

Wolf sighed, "We're getting somewhere."

"What about you?" Monotaro asked quietly.

"Yeah," Alex demanded. "Explain this whole request you have to fulfill?"

"Request?" Wolf questioned raising an eyebrow.

"Like why you are having us share our stories," Alex spoke up.

"My story isn't important," Wolf commented.

"Everyone's story matters," Monotaro pointed out.

Alex nodded, "What he said, now fess up Wolf. As you said before, we haven't got all day."

Wolf forcefully exhaled, wondering where to start.

"Start at the beginning," Monotaro prompted, but it was then when they heard footsteps coming towards their door. Monotaro swore and quickly removed the door's block. He stumbled back as the door swung open, and Wolf caught him.

"Thanks," Monotaro mumbled as he straightened up.

"What the hell is this? A party?"

Alex glanced up and saw Eagle, Matt, Jeff, and Ben, standing there. The evil grin on their faces let Alex know something was up.

"Is this the bastard?" Ben asked roughly as his eyes landed on Monotaro.

"I'm not a bastard," Monotaro whispered.

Ben grabbed Monotaro's arm and lurched him forward. "Did I say you could speak?" He then glanced at Matt, "You're right, he is a handful."

Alex roughly cut in. "He's not a bastard and I'm not a bastard either. You lot are the bastards - the one who treat us like dogs. We'll get you in the end," he added. He didn't hesitate to notice that Wolf stepped back and closed his eyes, his silent way of saying he had nothing to do with this one.

Matt sighed and glanced at Eagle, "Has he been like this the whole time I've been gone?"

Eagle shook his head. "He's been _mostly_well behaved, thankfully. Maybe it's the drugs you're giving him." Somehow, Eagle managed to look innocent through the whole exchange.

"I think the drugs are actually helping quite well. Isn't that right Monotaro?" Jeff questioned.

Monotaro flinched but didn't say a word.

"Anyway, I'm taking Monotaro and Cub with me," Matt responded. "Thanks for watching Cub, Eagle, I'm glad he behaved well for you. Maybe I'll have to send him back sometime. What do you say, Cub?"

Alex would have loved to have said, yes, please send me back right now, but didn't. Instead, he settled on saying, "I-I... I'd rather not... sir..."

Matt chuckled. "Guess you've got him in line pretty well. Come on, let's go, you two. Monotaro, say thanks to Jeff for looking after you."

Monotaro swallowed the lump in his throat. "T-t-thanks s-s-s-ir," he stuttered.

The trio walked to the car in silence.

## break ##

Alex swallowed hard as he got into the front seat of the car. He knew he would be in for it but had hoped that by speaking up he would prevent Monotaro from getting punished by Matt.

"I thought I had taught both of you better than that? The language you used is no exception. You will be punished for it," Matt told them both. Alex froze and didn't hesitate to notice Monotaro bury his face in his hands.

Alex mentally debated on what to do. "Why punish Monotaro? I was the one who told him to say it. I was the one who encouraged him to speak up," Alex responded. He swallowed hard so that Matt could see he was nervous. "I-I-I'm sorry," he added, stuttering.

"Alex..." Monotaro whispered, but stopped when Matt glared at him.

"Well, I was going to dismiss the punishment, since it was obviously Cub who disobeyed -"

"Monotaro, I'm sorry, I shouldn't have told you to say anything," Alex cut in again, attempting to draw the attention onto him. He shot Monotaro a quick look, silently saying, _I know what I'm doing_. He turned his full attention back to Matt. "Y-Y-you don't have to punish me. I learned my lesson. You really are stupid."

"It seems as if you've forgotten your place Cub. You will now sleep in the basement. I will discuss more once we get home," Matt told him.

"What-" Alex cried but was then cut off by a backhand to the face. They had stopped out a red light, so Matt decided to punish him right then. Alex cried out and grabbed his shirt, holding it against his nose, which had started to bleed ever so slightly.

"Every time you step out of line, you will be punished, as well as Monotaro," Matt said. He smiled as he noticed Alex cringe. The light turned green again and they started to go.

"No more talking for either of you at all. Unless you're down in the basement and there's no one to hear you but your miserable, pathetic selves. Monotaro, you will be helping Alex move down to the basement. I do not know how long you both will be staying here, but it will be at least until both of you have improved your manners," Matt remarked.

Alex swallowed hard and sent an "I'm sorry" look to Monotaro.

"Additionally, both of you will look at the floor and will not look me in the eye. I have medicine, not drugs, for you both to take every morning. Cub, your education is suspended. I'll decide whether or not you're able to continue it again. I may or may not have tasks for you to do during the day," Matt said. He pulled in the driveway. "Monotaro, your bag is in the back. Jeff got it ready for you."

Alex slowly got out of the car, as did Monotaro. Matt got out, and headed for the door, grabbing Alex's arm on the way. It was only then when Alex noticed that his breath smelled like beer. "Did you forget already, Cub? Look down at the ground and follow me. You're a slave, nothing more," he added, "and you need to learn to stay in line."

_But I'm not a slave, I'm a terrified fourteen year old kid_! Alex thought to himself as he got dragged away by Matt, he shot a forlorn glance at Monotaro. He knew he could not step out of line now with Monotaro possibly being punished as a threat.

Monotaro sighed as they went inside. He felt weak and helpless that he couldn't save Alex. Or even warn him of the wrong doings before they happened. He saw something move out of the corner of his eye. Turning to look he saw a deer.

It was at the woods edge, eating grass. The woods...Monotaro remembered them well. The first time he ran away, it was in the dead of the night, and knowing the city well he made his way to the woods, thoughtful that regular civilization was just on the other side. They weren't difficult to navigate through, and it shouldn't have token taken him long... Matt shouldn't have been able to find him so quickly... yet he did-

"Monotaro!"

He whipped around, and saw Henry standing in the doorway. Henry was Matt's personal drug handler now, besides Mr. Heft, and he stopped by from time to time. In fact, both of them did.

"Come," he commanded.

Monotaro glanced back, and the deer was gone, having run into the woods when Henry yelled, frightening it. Monotaro didn't blame him, he would run too if he could.

Grabbing his light bag out of the trunk, he closed it and made his way to Henry.

"Cat got your tongue, boy?"

It was the time to start for an all new hell.

* * *

A/N: We hope you're liking it so far. **Readers who are signed in, have private messaging enabled, and take the time to review** will be given a sneak peak of chapter 9. If you don't want to enable private messaging or can't login, please review anyway; we love feedback.

Challenges:

What do you think of Monotaro's character?

Has Ben gone darkside?

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	9. Even Love Has Its Limits

Wolf groaned as he stretched out in the back seat of the car. He was exhausted. Slaves got precious little, if any, sleep at night. He would be so damn glad when this mission was over.

This mission had token a toll on his team. They had been in this situation only once before, but they didn't get close enough to the effects of slavery. Now they were in the middle of it. The mission had started out simply enough, it was just related to drugs. Or so they had thought. Now they were in the start of a whole new slave war.

And Wolf was bearing the brunt of it.

After a week into the drug business, they found that most of the handlers had slaves. When the word 'slave' had first come up, Wolf thought it was just a joke. Not really taking it seriously, he assigned Eagle as one of the handlers, thinking even he couldn't mess that up.

Well they were wrong; they all were totally wrong. It wasn't that Eagle couldn't handle the slave owner position. It was that the slave thing was such a part of every day business that it was... Wolf blinked again, trying to focus. He was exhausted, and having a psychotic version of Fox as his owner didn't help much.

The final blow for the case had hit at the hospital, where Snake currently worked. But the case was a private one, that involved a slave and his owner. Apparently, from Snake's perspective on the dealers words, the 'fucking slave' took to many ibuprofen. Slave had commented that they were probably dying to try to get away - something Wolf found unsettling. They had to do surgery, sucking everything out of the slave's stomach, which wasn't much.

Snake commented that he had tried talking to the slave after the ordeal. With the slave being a mere teen, Snake had thought perhaps the slave couldn't read. If he was in the system long enough, the owners made sure that most of their slaves couldn't read, as they would be in the system for quite a while, and if they couldn't read, they would have limited future options, forcing them to keep silent about the abuse and then on top of that work for their abusers. But when Snake had asked him, what happened, and the slave responded with, the headache was too much and he didn't miscounted on how many pills he took.

Snake asked him how many he took, and the slave said, not enough. Snake was going to question more, but then the owner came in, demanding that he be released. Snake didn't fight it, and he released the kid into the abusers hands again. Wolf knew that would be a feeling of guilt that was left with Snake for a long time.

The car door ripped open, snapping Wolf out of his thoughts. He was roughly grabbed by his sweatshirt by Fox. "Come on, let's go," Fox snapped.

They had the case set up for Wolf, as an adult slave. Now those weren't unheard of...just uncommon. So the background story that fits together would be Wolf had grown up in a rough part of town. His family moving around everywhere, and it turns out that his father was ripping people off with rather cheap, fake, oil. That was the reason they had moved around so much in the first place, but one day they just left him there. Packed up and left, sold the house before hand, not leaving anywhere to turn.

The 'government' soon found out, and linked him and his father together. Somehow they didn't believe that he didn't know where his family was, so they threatened to throw him in jail. Of course what kid would want to sit out in jail for the rest of his life. However there was also, plan 'B'.

Which is why Wolf now found himself filing out his character by fulfilling his deed, "community service". If it wasn't part of his mission, and not to mention perfect for this specific case, he would label the "community service" under blackmail, with no chance of parole. He wouldn't put it past the "government" to do a shady thing like that.

Then again, his story didn't really matter. It wasn't like anyone asked him or anything. He was snapped out of his thoughts by Fox. "Dammit, you piece of shit, I said get out of the car! I went and got the fucking mail already. Let's go inside already, alright?"

"Well, it took you long enough," Wolf snapped back, and helped himself out the car.

Fox bristled but grabbed Wolf and dragged him inside. Wolf allowed himself to breathe a sigh of relief before Fox suddenly decked him, punching him in full view of the camera. "I told you not to talk. How many times do we have to work on this lesson? I am your tutor and I am beginning to get sick of you. How does anyone else put up with you?"

"That's what you wonder about? Because that's exactly what I think about with you. How can anyone put up with a jack ass like you?"

Wolf knew he had gone too far when he saw the thunderous look on Fox's face.

"Go down to the basement. No dinner for that little stunt. I'll have... chores you'll help me on tomorrow too. You better get some rest, because you'll need it."

Wolf bit the inside of his cheek, refraining from speaking again as he rubbed against the treatment. As he walked to the basement he could get the fact out of his head that Alex was hot headed like he was, which is great. The kid needed to be little cheeky; however he needed to tone it down while he was a slave, especially if Fox was his tutor.

* * *

Monotaro sighed as he unlocked the door that hid beside the stairs. Once it opened he coughed as the musty smell hit him. He glanced around, and it brought back a ton of memories. Memories Monotaro would rather keep repressed. The memories hit him full-force, nearly knocking him over as he tried to block them out.

The room was the same as it had been the last time he had been in it. A cot shoved up against the far wall, which was no more than ten feet away. The same cot he had slept on a few months ago. For an unidentified amount of days, that he crashed on, totally exhausted, but found himself to sleep.

He shuffled across the room and sat on the edge of the cot. Soon to be Alex's place to rest before the unexpected happened. Monotaro sighed as he couldn't warn Alex of what was to come if he didn't know himself. Matt had both boys terrified.

Monotaro heard footsteps up above, so he slowly got to his feet, and headed for the door. He caught a small yelp, then a few bangs, and Monotaro suspected that Alex had fallen down the stairs or that Matt had pushed him.

He shuffled out of the room and froze as he saw Alex laying, unmoving at the foot of the stairs. Not believing he was alive Monotaro ran over to him, fell to his knees, and searched for his pulse. When he found a short one, he sighed in relief. But then jumped when Alex grabbed his arm.

"Mono...Monotaro?" Alex asked as he blinked.

"Alex..." Monotaro whispered taking in his appearance. Alex had been beaten badly and he looked utterly exhausted - like he'd aged since Monotaro had last seen him only a few hours ago. "What... happened?"

"I... I don't know." Alex swallowed visibly. "What happened? I can't remember..." he looked terrified at the thought.

Both boys froze at the sign of Matt's voice. "Monotaro, get up here and get a cot and bedding for your damn roommate. You'll both be in there for awhile."

Monotaro glanced at Alex, and when he briefly nodded, Monotaro headed up the stairs. He reached the upstairs room when he saw Matt. "W-where is the c-cot, Sir?" he asked.

Matt actually laughed. "Did you think I would get someone like _you _a cot? Psht. You can use the mattress in the room the guests stay in. There is a blanket and bedding in the closet. Be grateful I let you have that - I'm feeling merciful today."

Monotaro nodded and grabbed the blankets before taking down the cot, making sure to take an extra one down for himself. He was freezing cold and it looked to only get worse. About to retreat to the basement, Monotaro caught sight of the blue box hidden behind a few pill bottles. He grabbed that too, and covered it with the blankets. No doubt Alex would need the first aid kit, and fast.

Monotaro rushed down the stairs and threw the blankets, on the floor and headed for Alex. "What kind of pain are you in...can you walk?"

Alex looked at him before blinking. "I... do I get a mattress?"

Monotaro blinked and paused. Oh, yeah. Matt had said something about a cot. Or a mattress. That meant he had to go back upstairs. Dammit.

Monotaro sighed, ran a hand through his hair, and looked back up the stairs. He could go now...but that may piss Matt off. Or he could wait it out, and give Alex the cot while he slept on the floor. That would work, Monotaro nodded his head, if it got him away from Matt, anything would work.

But as he attempted to assess Alex's injuries, Matt yelled again. "Monotaro, get up here and get the damn mattress before I decide which one of you would look better with a broken nose!"

Monotaro cringed as he got up, "I'll be back," he whispered to Alex as he took the stairs two by two.

"What took you so long?" Matt questioned as he met Monotaro at the top of the stairs.

"I... I needed..."

"You don't need shit. Get the mattress already. And then come back up with your mutt friend, it's dinner time." Both knew he meant it was "drug time" just as much as he meant it was time for food.

Monotaro grabbed the limp mattress, and dragged it down the stairs. He threw it on top of the blankets, knowing he would have to move it latter, but Alex was all that mattered now, and where Alex was involved, Matt was directly connected.

He flopped the mattress down on the floor and took only a second to pant for breath. "Alex, I'm sorry, but it's time to eat."

Alex blinked twice. "Eat?"

"Yeah, you know, like food?" Monotaro asked. What had Matt done to Alex? The kid had been fine when he got here and now... "What happened?" he hissed.

"I... He just reminded me to use my manners?" Alex asked, looking incredibly unsure of himself. Monotaro knew he was lying, but decided not to challenge him on it.

"Right... " Monotaro said. "Well, regardless of what happened...I have to get you up the stairs."

"The...stairs?" Alex questioned as he turned to glance at them.

Monotaro sighed, and got down on one knee, "Yes, Alex, the stairs. We're in the basement now, and I need to get you upstairs so we can eat."

"Right..." Alex moved to follow Monotaro and hesitated briefly, looking at Monotaro with a flash of fear.

"Don't worry, Alex...I'll take one for the team. Come on, we don't want to keep him waiting," Monotaro told him, knowing he was afraid of what Matt could do. They all were.

Alex glanced at Monotaro and he sighed, going up the first step first and motioning for Alex to follow. Alex bowed his head and did so.

_What had happened to Alex_? Monotaro again questioned even as they made his way into the kitchen.

Matt smiled as the two boys got into the room. "Boys, here's your dinner. I'll be back in a few minutes with your medicine. We have a visit to Alex's tutor tomorrow, so you'll need some rest for that. Monotaro, I'd like to speak with you for a second please?"

Monotaro swallowed and briefly glanced at Alex, but found him engrossed in the fine lines of the wooden table. Hoping Alex wouldn't do anything, he reluctantly followed Matt out of the kitchen.

"I see you've noticed a change in your... friend," Matt remarked.

"What did you give him?" Monotaro demanded. Then noticed his mistake a little to late when Matt's face darkened.

"That is not your concern," Matt snapped. "I just wanted to take this time to remind you that everything you say and do will be used against Cub, you understand, you miserable shit? We're going to Benjamin's tomorrow for Cub's tutoring. You will be helping Wolf while you're there. Got that? Or is that too complicated for you to understand?"

"Yes, si- I mean no, sir...Yes I understand," Monotaro struggled to get his words right. "Sir," he added.

Matt backhanded him, causing him to tumble back into the wall. "Shut up and go eat your food before I decide to give it to Cub - at least he's being compliant."

Monotaro hastily made his retreat as he glanced at his bowl of food. Alex only mildly picked at his. "Dig in," Matt said. "I'm going to go get your medicine, boys. Be back in a flash. Cub, no talking," he ordered.

Matt then disappeared, no doubt to get the drugs, so Monotaro glanced at Alex. "Alex..." he whispered. Then sighed when the other boy didn't respond, only stabbed his food. Giving up, Monotaro decided it would be better to eat now and talk later.

He was rewarded with his decision when Matt came back and ruffled Alex's hair, the very motion making Monotaro sick. "Here you go, Cub. Monotaro, here _you _go. Hand, please." Monotaro watched helplessly as Alex downed his pills in a single gulp as well as drowned the water.

"Monotaro?" Matt questioned as he handed him his pills.

He took them wordlessly, only briefly pausing before taking them to notice there were more than the usual amount. Trying to count them, he was interrupted by Matt's glare. He swallowed them all, registering the plastic taste in his mouth. He then decided that it didn't matter how many pills he was supposed to take, he didn't want any, but Matt would force him regardless of his opinion.

He glanced at Alex. Damn, it would be a long night.

* * *

CHALLENGES:

What happened to Alex?

What is going to happen next to Wolf?

Those who take the time to review & are signed in will get a one paragraph sneak peak; anyone who answers one of the challenges will get a two paragraph sneak peak. Even if you aren't able to sign in Torn Apart Paper Dinosaur and I would love your review!


	10. Have You Ever Heard of Freedom, Sir?

**A/N: So here it is - the update! Also, warning for swearing. It's Wolf, need I say more?**

Disclaimer in chapter 1 - please ask before you borrow characters or ideas (trust me, we'll likely say yes!)

Enjoy... if you dare...

* * *

**CHAPTER TEN**

_**LATER **_

Monotaro flinched as another man made his way into the basement before he recognized it was Wolf. He quickly breathed a sigh of relief before seeing the flush of anger on the man's face. He reeled back hastily but not quick enough as Wolf threw a punch at him.

"What the hell did you do?" Wolf roared.

Monotaro felt a tear run down his cheek as he curled back towards the corner. "I... I..." Wasn't Wolf one of the good guys?

"I don't need your damn excuses, now tell me what happened to Alex?" Wolf asked as he stalked towards Monotaro.

Monotaro curled back towards the corner even further, recoiling all the more. "I am n-not allowed to talk," he whispered as he covered his face with his hoodie, bringing up his legs and burying them in his face. "I can't talk. I'm sorry. I can't talk."

Wolf froze, and sighed. Of course it wasn't Monotaro's fault. He wasn't not the one who forced him to take those drugs. Wolf just had jumped to conclusions because Monotaro was supposed to look after Alex while they were separated, and Alex would do the same.

"I'm...look, I apologize, kid, I shouldn't have jumped you like that," Wolf tried reasoning with Monotaro, who was still curled in the corner away from him.

Monotaro only responded by burying his face in his hooded sweater. "I'm sorry - I'm sorry - I'm sorry - I'm sorry..." he whispered. He looked at Wolf's face for only a second before scooting away. "I'm sorry.. I'm sorry..."

Wolf hit his forehead and cursed himself for putting the kid in a panic attack. "Monotaro.." Wolf said as he held his hands up, and took a small step forward.

"I'm sorry!" Monotaro cried. He stood up. "I'm sorry. I'm so... I shouldn't speak... I'm sorry... Sir..." Little did Wolf know that he had sent Monotaro into the throes of a flashback. "What do you want me to do... Sir?" he asked.

Wolf just looked at him, then sighed. "Monotaro, sit down," he commanded. But he knew he said it too harshly, as the kid cringed before immediately sitting down. "Niles.." he said, and only continued when he looked up at him. "I. Am. Sorry." Wolf held up a hand when the kid looked at him.

"Yes, Sir. I am sorry, Sir." Monotaro repeated the words like a perfect parrot. "What do you want to do, sir?"

"I don't want to do anything," Wolf responded. "Although I want you to breathe."

"Yes, sir," Monotaro responded, taking in a deep breath and letting it out. "I can breathe, sir." Wolf didn't fail to notice that Monotaro looked at him like he had three heads.

"Good," Wolf commented. "I am glad you can breathe, do it again, deep breaths." Clearly orders were the only way to communicate with this kid. Wolf seethed inwardly, trying not to appear angry. He was going to kill Mat.

Monotaro nodded, breathing deeply before backing away from Wolf. "Yes. Sir. Not a problem. I... I'm sorry. I shouldn't have angered you, Sir. I'm sorry, Sir."

"I'm not angry Niles, just stressed," Wolf told him, as he sat down. "It is by no means connected to you, though," he added.

"Yes, Sir. I'm sorry I don't know what happened to Alex, Sir." Although that wasn't entirely true. Monotaro had some vague ideas. But he wasn't sharing them with Wolf. Sure, the guy was a slave, but he was twice as big and powerful as Monotaro and wasn't afraid to resort to violence.

"Niles," Wolf asked, and continued on when the kid looked towards him. "Stop freaking the fuck out, and calling me 'sir', my name is Wolf and nothing more."

"Y-y-es sir. I mean... Wolf." Monotaro's eyes flashed with fear. "I don't want to talk," he said as he wrapped his legs around the floor and buried his face in his hoodie. How long would Alex be in tutoring?

"You don't have to talk unless you want to," Wolf told him, before continuing, "But... Can I talk to you about some stuff?"

_What the hell_, Monotaro thought as he pulled himself back from the depths of his mind, removing himself from his flashback. Even if it was a beating he'd experienced those a hundred times before. "Yes sir, I'm sorry about Alex. Sir, it's my fault sir."

Wolf sighed, _do not strangle the kid..._he thought. "Okay Niles, now I'm not mad. But my name is Wolf _not_ Sir. You understand the difference right?"

"Yes sir," Monotaro responded. His face flashed with fear. "I mean, yes, Wolf!"

"Niles let me lay this out for you," Wolf started. "What is Alex classified as? Take your time, it's no test."

"I... I... A... I... I don't know!" Monotaro blurted out. The last time he'd heard the word classified it had been just before he'd been given sleeping pills that had made him throw up.

Wolf sighed, and took a deep breath. _Patience is a virtue, kiddo. _How many times has his mother said that to him? "That's fine, no big deal, just calm down. Alex is now a slave-" that was the wrong thing to say.

"Yes. Alex is a slave. I am a slave too. I know my 'lace," Monotaro said as he looked up the stairs.

Wolf stared at him for a second...he really couldn't do this. Hell he was surprised the kid hasn't gone into a stress induced coma. "That's right Niles, you are labeled as a slave. And so am I. We are on the same side kid, no need to fear me."

It was then when the voice came calling downstairs as Monotaro nodded briefly, almost absentmindedly. "Time to go, _Monotaro_... Oh, and look who's down here. Wolf. I do believe that you are needed to assist with the two children at my house? Your owner said something about extra training."

"Hold up, what?" Wolf questioned, as he stood up, blocking Monotaro from Matt.

"Can't you hear? You're going to come with me for a few days. And where is the 'sir' on the end of your sentence, you miserable shit?"

"The hell I will," Wolf told him, then added, "_sir."_

"I can see why you want me to take him," Matt remarked to Ben. "He will need some training. And a nice drug cocktail. Which I can provide for you for a pretty penny, of course. Look at how Alex is - I can make him just as submissive as that."

Monotaro didn't know what happened. Wolf was standing in front of him, then the next second he was on top of Matt, punching him.

"You fucking bastard!"

The next second Wolf was jumped by Ben, who had to almost scrape him off of Matt. "Get the hell off or I swear to God I will put you down!"

Wolf tried to get out of Ben's grasp, and before this mission it wouldn't have been a problem, but he wasn't eating as much, so he wasn't as fit as before. But he stopped trying to fight back when Monotaro spoke up.

"James isn't a dog," he clarified, glaring at Ben.

Wolf was so shocked that the kid stood up for someone else - on his own free will - that he stood frozen. He had to drag Monotaro away from the argument. "I'm not a dog. I never will be. You're the dogs," he said, shooting Monotaro a clear look that said _be quiet_, _I know what I'm doing. _Or at least he hoped he did. "I'm not a slave either. I'm this thing called a human being. Unless you don't remember what they are?"

"Shut up!" Ben yelled at him, and shoved him away from Matt. He pressed the button down on a device he was holding, hard. Wolf cried out and collapsed on the floor, dropping to the ground. "Handcuff him," he growled at Matt, wrestling Wolf's hands together as Matt cuffed them closed.

"He needs to work on his community service," Ben growled. His eyes clearly threatened Wolf and the K-Unit leader visibly flinched. "Why don't you escort him to the car? I'll grab Cub and Monotaro."

"Sounds good to me. I can't believe you, Johnson and that medical dude are going away on a retreat. I'm not sure I can survive with these three."

Ben chuckled without humor. "I'm sure you'll do fine without me."

* * *

Alex paced down in the basement restlessly. Wolf was being "tutored" by Matt, in God knows what they only knew. He finally felt like he was coming out of his fog a little bit. He had noticed that Monotaro and Wolf had some discussion about stuff but he didn't know what.

Monotaro seemed to be doing a little bit better, but still flinched a lot and looked weary around Wolf. Wolf seemed much more subdued around Matt and Alex couldn't help but wonder what had happened between the two.

He was broken from his thoughts by Monotaro. "Hey, Cub, it's time to eat." None of them dared to call each other by their real names. Matt was getting more and more controlling and was making sure to control their every movement. Something was happening, that was all they could figure out.

Alex blinked twice. He hadn't even seen Monotaro come down. "Coming," he responded. Monotaro had seemed to be doing better the past few days when he was around Wolf. Alex, on the other hand, was slipping back into his own little world, where Matt couldn't hurt him. He didn't understand why, but figured that it had to have something to do with the drugs that Matt was feeding him. Or something else. Alex wasn't sure what.

"Cub," Monotaro said gestured towards the stairs. Alex flinched but took a deep breath and opened the door. Wolf was sitting at the table, glaring at a page of homework, a snapped pencil and Matt. Alex didn't even want to guess what had happened.

Alex glanced at the page that was in front of Wolf, ignoring his eraser shavings, he saw that it was a list. On a closer look though, he felt disgusted. He now knew why the pencil was broken, and the murderous glare that Wolf was sending to Matt.

"Write down number five," Matt snapped, glaring angrily at Wolf with crossed arms. "I will not talk to my superiors. Oh, hi, boys. Take a seat and ignore Wolf here, he's working on his homework."

Alex found himself unable to speak, so he collapsed in his chair, staring at the words on the paper. His brain couldn't process the words, but it didn't matter, because the label at the top was enough: Rules that Slaves follow.

"Aren't you always blurting out that you're our superior? If you don't want us to talk to you that's fine, because the feeling is mutual," Wolf retorted.

Matt sighed, exasperated, as he got out the food for Monotaro and Alex. "Eat up, there's plenty more," he remarked. "Wolf, come with me. We're moving into the living room to discuss your list of rules. All good slaves have at least ten and you're not even halfway finished."

Alex ignored the food in front of him, and watched as Wolf walked out with Matt. He glanced over at Monotaro, and mouthed silently, "What happened?"

Monotaro sighed and winced. "You'd better eat or he'll take it away. Wolf's going through what we're going through. They can't make him a foster kid, but they can make him follow our rules."

Alex took a bite, then set his fork down, "So Matt wants to revoke our rights altogether?"

Monotaro snorted, pointed to Alex's food, and said, "You'd better eat, he's actually in the mood to allow us seconds tonight, and I am starving."

The words Monotaro didn't say explained everything to Alex.

* * *

"I can't believe you don't understand how to write this list down," Matt growled as he checked his watch. "We were told you had full reading and writing capabilities, and _look_ at your handwriting! It's awful! And it's taken you three hours to write down five fucking sentences!"

"Well, sorry to disappoint you, but no one actually wants to _write away their freedom!" _Wolf told him. "And as far as your knowledge goes, I am fully capable of reading, and writing."

"It doesn't matter what you want. You're a slave, you're property, you do as you're told," Matt responded. "Got that?"

"Did you pass government in High School? Amendment thirteen, 1865? Ever heard of it?" Wolf questioned.

"I know that slavery is considered to be against the law, but this isn't slavery," Matt explained coldly. "I'm helping many foster kids in the system. Now shut up and write the damn rule down so we can accomplish this list before the end of the night."

"I beg to differ on the whole 'helping and not enslaving'. Do you really think Monotaro or Alex would rather be here?" Wolf told him. Mildly, he wondered if he could stab Matt with the dull, broken pencil.

"Then out on the streets? Absolutely. I feed them, I clothe them, I give them medication, I give them medical care. But this isn't about me, Wolf. This is about you. Write down rule number five or I'll double your dose of medication tonight."

Wolf cursed under his breath and wrote down number five. _Out on the streets! Those boys had homes and families, and you ripped that away from them. You give them drugs! Not medication, there is a difference, you bastard. _Wolf thought, and bit the inside of his cheek to stop himself from saying anything.

His silent venting was stopped as Matt patted him on the head. "Good job, now for rule number six."

"The fuck?" Wolf questioned as he swatted his hand away from him. "You told me there were only five rules! What the hell could you have added?"

"Language, and use the word 'sir' when speaking to a superior," Matt barked as he roughly slapped Wolf in the face.

Wolf's head snapped to the side by the force of the blow, he brought up a hand and touched his cheek. It was warm, and no doubt would bruise. He growled and thought, _oh this guy is going down, _but he didn't dare speak the words out loud. A few seconds passed before Matt spoke again.

"Do you understand?"

Wolf nodded, "Yes, sir. What the hell could rule number six be?" he questioned again, before adding, "Sir."

"Language. Rule number six is that you will not cuss when speaking, not that you should be speaking at all."

Wolf's stomach growled at the thought of food, and he hastily wrote the number six rule down.

Matt smiled, knowing that he still had power over Wolf. "No dinner for you, because you messed this up. Your sleeping arrangements will also be different than Alex's and Monotaro's. You will be sleeping in the corner of my bedroom. Obviously, after this little display, I can't trust you one bit."

Wolf felt a flash of fear run through him as he understood exactly why Alex and Monotaro were afraid of Matt. He swallowed hard and thought briefly about his options, wondering how hard it would be to make it to the front door. He decided that even if he could make it, he couldn't do it, because of Monotaro and Alex.

He nodded hastily.

Matt motioned for him to follow, and he did so. He hesitated briefly as Matt turned the other way and he slipped the pencil in his pocket. It wasn't much but it might be useful later.

Unfortunately, Matt turned around and glanced at him. "Wolf, pencil," he demanded.

Sighing, Wolf handed it back.

"Let me take you back to the room now," Matt said as he grabbed the pills that were resting on the counter. He motioned for Wolf to follow. "That's your corner," he said, pointing to the corner of his room that was furthest away from the bed. Wolf did not fail to notice that there were already blankets there.

"Here," Matt said, moving to the desk and handing Wolf some tape. "Hang up your rules."

"You're fucking crazy," Wolf responded, "if you think I'm doing any of that for you. This is not right -"

"I don't give a flying flip. Just hang them up. Remember, I can always punish Monotaro and Cub for your mistakes."

Feeling sick to his stomach, Wolf obliged.

It was going to be a long week.

* * *

A/N: Well, how did you 'enjoy?' Thanks so much for your reviews. As stated in the last chapter, review once; get a one-paragraph sneak peak; review and answer a challenge, get a two paragraph sneak peak. And you don't have to be right either; the wildest guesses will do! (Because who can really predict Matt and Jeff anyway? Or Wolf?)

CHALLENGES:

Will Wolf be able to avoid getting Alex and Monotaro punished by acting stupid?

Where is Ben going?

The ever-popular one: _What happened to Alex?_

_Thanks for all your answers, feedback, and reviews! _


	11. When Our Worlds Collide Tonight

**A/N: Thanks to giverofgrace who inspired an idea for this chapter that Dinosaur and I voted to squeeze in. Thank you also to _Iliveadaydream_, who pointed out that Brittan outlawed slavery before the US. We'll fix that. Because Dinosaur and I are both from the USA, we both may miss some things that may be obvious to people who have lived in Britain/studied Britain. Please feel free to point out any inaccuracies you see. Thanks to the rest of you for your reviews.  
**

**NEXT CHAPTER (ELEVEN) ^^**

Wolf grimaced in pain as he looked up. "You've g-got to be kidding me," he spluttered, looking at the mattress on the floor. Unfortunately, Matt wasn't kidding. He grabbed Wolf and flung him on the floor, yanking his arm roughly behind his back. He tugged it harshly, causing Wolf to scream out in pain.

"Ahh!" Wolf spat, swallowing as he was shoved against the carpet. "You stupid-" he screamed again as he heard his bone crack, unable to help himself.

"You're the stupid idiot," Matt snapped, "you went gone and broke your arm. Now shut up while I get you an ace bandage or I'll do the same to Cub and Monotaro."

Wolf gulped but wisely kept quiet as Matt came and wrapped his arm around in an ace bandage, handing him a blue sling. "Here you go. This sling is for tomorrow. You can put it next to your bed. I suggest you rest up. Tomorrow will be a long day."

With that, Matt left.

* * *

Alex had just finished his second helping of rice when Matt returned. "Hello, boys," Matt said cheekily. Matt went over to the sink and washed his hands as he opened up the pills, giving five to each Monotaro and Alex.

Alex, for the life of him, couldn't remember Monotaro's real name, even though the kid had told him. He swallowed the pills, feeling incredibly uneasy. Where was Wolf?

"Wolf is being punished. You two should go to bed. You will see him tomorrow at breakfast."

Alex didn't like that at all but wisely chose not to comment as he and Monotaro moved back downstairs. He felt like his entire life was in a fog.

He barely remembered hitting the pillow that night.

* * *

Alex was exhausted and felt like he was about to throw up. "I... I... don't... feel... good," he whispered, clutching his stomach. Monotaro looked helplessly on, knowing that he was having an allergic reaction to the drugs.

Matt walked down the stairs, flipping the light on. "What the hell?" he demanded. Monotaro bolted away from Alex as if he was clutching fire.

"Damn kids," Matt muttered. Monotaro could see from the glow on his watch that it was 3:00 A.M. He wondered mildly why Matt had come downstairs and decided that he really didn't want to know. "Let me get you some flu medicine, Alex," he said. The teenager didn't even attempt to brush away from Matt's hand; that was when Monotaro knew there was something wrong.

"No..." Alex whispered hoarsely. Monotaro had moved him over to the mattress to give him more room to move around.

At Monotaro's glare, Matt sighed. "Real flu medicine, Monotaro. I'll be back down in five minutes."

When Monotaro had first landed in the system, he would have said, "_Oh, and now you're a caring and compassionate father_?", but now he didn't dare. Maybe Matt's caring time just happened to be at three o'clock in the morning.

When Matt came back, he held medicine that was in some sort of pharmacy bottle. "Can't have him dying on us, that would open all kinds of investigations," Matt said, "So stop glaring at me like I'm going to fucking kill him, Monotaro."

Monotaro lowered his eyes and watched as Matt took Alex's temperature. Matt swore when he saw it was at 99 degrees. "Shit, kid's hot. You can speak, Monotaro. How long has he been like this?"

_A far worse question than any pop quiz in school. Make something up, Monotaro_. "I... I don't know. Maybe an hour, Sir. Should I have gotten you, Sir?"

Matt winced. "No. I'll take care of him. The medicine should help. I'll be back down in about an hour to check on him. Go back to sleep, it's three thirty in the morning. I think a late start for all of us will be beneficial."

Monotaro raised his eyebrows. Damn. Who knew that Matt could be considerate?

* * *

True to his word, Matt was back at 4:30 a.m. Alex's fever still hadn't gone down.

At 5:30 A.M., Matt was back again. The fever hadn't gone down.

Six thirty a.m. had allowed Matt to come back down again.

When he saw that Alex's fever had risen by an entire degree, he swore and vowed to call a doctor.

* * *

Snake groaned as he stretched his arms.

"What are you doing?" Fox asked, taking a sip of coffee. His psychotic character didn't really start until the afternoon, for which he was grateful.

"A house visit," Snake remarked.

"At seven thirty in the morning?"

"It's for _Matt_," Snake said, as if that explained everything, which unfortunately it did. "Apparently Cub is sick."

Fox shook his head. He was grateful that he and Snake lived in a place without any bugs, as this allowed them to talk freely. Or that at least Snake did. He knew his official house had bugs in it. "Damn - probably from the drugs?" he asked.

That didn't mean they weren't careful. They both knew that Matt had eyes and ears everywhere, and they didn't want the walls speaking to him.

"I don't know. I'll have to go and examine him," Snake said with a grimace. "I think Matt is fairly ignorant about actual medicine though, so I'll be able to hopefully slip in some real cures."

"Nice, very nice," Fox remarked as he stretched. "God... my character is such a psychopath."

"Won't argue with you on that one."

"I really am ready to end the whole thing with you-know-who." Snake _did _know who he meant, and couldn't say he blamed Fox. The man looked emotionally exhausted, and given the part he had to play, Snake could not say he blamed the man. The part Fox had to play was, well, interesting, to say the least; psychotic was probably a more accurate description.

"I know, as am I." Snake let out a groan. This wasn't even supposed to be K-Unit's job in the first place, but it wasn't like they were backing out now. He sighed. "I hope Cub's not too sick..." he glanced at Fox.

"I am really concerned about Cub," Fox added pointedly, as if he thought that Snake was going to to accuse him of hurting Cub.

"I am too. I honestly thought thieves of A were looking after him from what Wolf said. How did he end up in care of our lovely friends?" Snake demanded.

"I don't know, but that's where I'm going now." Fox yawned sleepily. "How are you going to get by with the excuse that you aren't able to be on the retreat?"

"Oh, yeah." Snake paused. "Well, it's been two days since we've been there, right? I'll just say my portion ended early. Or I'll make up some other lame excuse. That reminds me. Fox, you _really_ need to stop hurting Alex and Monotaro. They're under eighteen."

"I'm mostly just yelling at them! Snake, if I am caught being nice to a slave in any way shape or form, my psychotic character could be possibly ruined. We all agreed that at the start of the mission, I would be the meanest one since I had the most acting experience."

Snake bit his lip. "I know... but what about Wolf? You're abusing him for sure, no questions asked!"

Fox clenched his teeth. "He's my _slave_. I have to abuse him. All slaves are abused. Are you questioning my acting skills?"

"No, I'm questioning your loyalty to the team!" Snake snapped before realizing that he'd gone too far.

"How dare you!" Fox responded, his fists clenched. "Look, I hate abusing Wolf! He's my team leader for heaven's sake! But my home is in full view of security cameras, and you know how mouthy Wolf gets! I wouldn't look serious if I wasn't abusing him for some of the shit he comes up with!"

"Yeah, he's too damn stubborn for his own good," Snake agreed. "I'm sorry, Fox. I don't know why I said that. I'm just exhausted, and I hate seeing you have to abuse people."

"You think I _like_ abusing people?" Fox asked. "Wolf is gonna have my ass after this mission is over, and I know it. But in the meantime, I have to keep from us all getting killed. We all came in at about the same time, and if any one of us blows cover - with the exception of Wolf, really; he's a slave so he dosen't really have cover... I have the main part of the mission, in a way, and I have to keep cover."

"I know, I know. Just make sure that I don't have to patch up Cub too many more times."

Fox grinned. "As long as he doesn't start mouthing off to me, I'll see what I can do."

* * *

Alex groaned as he was gently shaken out of his sleep by a stern-sounding voice. The two things were not compatible; gentle and sternness. "Go away," he yawned sleepily, hoping it was Jack, just asking him to take out the trash.

The man glanced up at Matt. "How long has he been like this?"

All eyes turned towards Monotaro. "You can speak," Matt responded. He would have to consider revoking that rule. He couldn't have the boys speaking out of turn, but he needed information.

"Since yesterday night, Sir. About... I don't know..." Monotaro looked like he was going to try. "Since about three hours after it got dark last night. I-I fell asleep... and I woke up..." he flinched away.

Snake sighed as he looked at the teenage boy. This was the same teenager who he had rescued from himself a few months previously. And he knew for a fact that it was not a mistake, or forced in anyway. He was worried about this kid's mental state of mind, but for now he had to pay attention to Cub. Hell, he had to keep an eye out for both of them while he could.

"Give me some room," Snake commented as he moved closer to Cub.

Matt shoved Monotaro out of the way, and he retreated to the other side of the tiny room. Matt however was looming over Snake's shoulder as he took Cub's vitals. Snake coughed and glanced up at him, "Do you mind?"

Matt gave him a look, "I do actually, I need Cub alive, not sick."

"Well from what I can tell, he has the flu, probably from being too cold. Although it could be an allergic reaction from the drugs he has taken recently."

"Are you accusing me of giving my slaves illegal drugs?" Matt questioned Snake in a tone that said he was not to be messed with, even though they both knew the answer was yes. Snake didn't doubt that was why Cub had gotten sick, though.

Snake sighed and sent a glance towards Monotaro, who was staring at the wall and slightly shaking his head. Snake took that as a sign and replied with, "Of course not, but he isn't used to everyday drug use, even healthy drugs, that incorporated with a slight sickness and you have a destroyed slave."

"Well, can you do something about it? And it won't get Monotaro sick, will it? 'Cause I need two working slaves in the best condition possible," Matt retorted.

Snake frowned, then took his time replying, taking Cub's temperature again, "Well it all depends on what he has...if it isn't viral, then he should heal faster with the help of some cold medicine, and simple rest. It shouldn't be contagious, because if Cub was sick before, he would have gotten Monotaro, and you for that matter."

"Well do you have the medicine with you now?"

Snake shook his head, "No, I don't carry a lot of medicine on me, and in any case Cub would need something strong and specific. And it probably won't be cheap either, if you want him in working order in the next few days you're going to have to not only buy these new drugs, but lay off on the drugs you're giving him now."

Matt checked his watch, and sighed, "I have somewhere I need to be in an hour...How long would the prescription take?"

"My guess would be a good hour or so; this medication Cub needs isn't easy to come across. So if I were you I would get there as soon as you can. That is if you don't want to take him to the hospital," Snake told him as he looked at the thermometer. It said one hundred and one.

"Who do I send then..."

"No clue, but Cub needs this treatment, his temp is one oh one," Snake told him as he watched Cub turn on his side.

"Shit..." Matt cursed, "Monotaro!"

The teenager scrambled up from the corner and came closer to them. Matt grabbed the scruff of his neck and pulled him closer. "I need you to run to the pharmacy at the corner of the street, and grab Cub's medicine. Now you will not talk to anyone, not even the clerk, just give them the prescription. You will go there and come straight back. And if you try to slip anything out of the store, I will know and you will wish you got sent to jail..." Matt reached in his pocket and pulled out a few hundreds, and he slipped it to Monotaro before he got really close.

Monotaro froze, and had to stop himself from flinching away, he could feel Matt's breath at the base of his neck. "And if you break any of those rules..." he whispered so only Monotaro could hear him, "I will find out, and I will do something much, much, worse then spending a few nights in jail..."

Monotaro had to bite his tongue in disgust as Matt licked his earlobe, then bit it twice. "Do you understand, Monotaro?" Matt raised his voice a little louder and he straightened up.

Monotaro couldn't even open his mouth; he could taste the bitter metallic substance in his mouth. He had bitten through his tongue in means of not speaking out...now he didn't trust himself to speak at all. He nodded and pocketed the money. He just wished Cub would be all right.

"Good," Matt replied sarcastically. "Hurry on now, you have an hour and a half," he told Monotaro. His pupils dilated and he glanced at Snake, then Cub, before he paused.

"The clock has already started," Matt reminded him.

Monotaro turned around and ran up the stairs and out the door.

Matt checked his watch and sighed, frustrated and exhausted. "I have to go somewhere soon, but I have slaves here..."

"If you really can't get out of it, I can stay here for a few hours. I'm not supposed to be at work today," Snake volunteered. "Plus, that way I could look at Cub, too."

"What's your hourly rate?"

Snake blinked twice. "Whatever you think is fair," he said. He had ulterior motives but wasn't about to tell Matt that.

Matt handed him a wad of hundreds before tying one of his shoes. Snake pocketed the money and looked at him.

"Just don't hurt him, or I'll find out," Matt threatened as he walked out of the basement door. Seemingly remembering something, he came back downstairs. "Oh, yeah, that reminds me. You know of Wolf, right?"

"Benjamin's slave that was left here for training, correct?" Snake asked.

"Yes. Glad news gets around. He's here. I'll wake him up and send him downstairs. He can be... challenging. Just don't let him escape. I'll work on his rules and requirements with him later," Matt responded as he walked upstairs.

Snake sighed as he put another compress on Cub's head and checked his fever again, mostly out of boredom (and because he knew that when awake, Cub wouldn't let Snake within a hundred feet of him).

It was going to be a long day.

* * *

**A/N: Challenges**

Challenge #1: Yes, Cub was heavily drugged... Most of you got that right. But something else happened too. What did happen? That's the challenge...**  
**

Challenge #2: What will happen when Snake runs into Wolf at Matt's house? **  
**

Challenge #3: What has been your favorite part or twist so far? Alternatively, what was your favorite sentence/paragraph in this chapter? (Feel free to directly quote ;-)).

Remember: If you review, you get a sneak peak of one paragraph; if you answer a challenge, you get a two paragraph sneak peak! Dinosaur and I love each and every review we get. **Thank you!**


	12. Secrets Revealed, And Not Nice Ones

Thanks again to all of our awesome reviewers. Thanks to Writer With Sprite & Torn Apart Paper Dinosaur for their great work, and thanks to Jayden95 for the beta. Thanks also to NightmareWorld, who has helped us with some of the errors that were initally in the book; as well as Rainstripe and SamayouTamashi for their ongoing encouragement during the story.

_A/N: Note: warning for brief mentions of sexual assault. Nothing graphic, but you need to know it's mentioned. If you've survived the last few chapters, though, you'll be fine. **  
**_

Disclaimer in chapter one. But just because I have a minute of free time, I'll repeat it again: Neither Torn Apart Paper Dinosaur nor I (Writer with Sprite) own Alex Rider. Unless she's been keeping secrets from me...

Thanks for all the amazing reviews!

**CHAPTER TWELVE**

Wolf groaned as he was roughly awoken. He had spent the night dreaming of escape amongst other things and he was sure he had thrashed around quite a bit. "Get up," Matt said, glaring at him. Wolf quickly obeyed, not liking the look in the man's eye. His arm still throbbed from yesterday, so he quickly tightened the ace bandage and put on the sling while following Matt.

Matt smirked at him. "Finally starting to listen, huh?"

_Only to keep Cub, Monotaro and myself safe_.

"Good. Then you will have no problem listening to Dr. Cameroons today. He is assisting Cub."

Wolf's jaw dropped open. Why was there a doctor here for Cub? He sincerely doubted Matt would call the doctor for a minor unless something serious was happening. "What happened?"

"Use the word 'Sir,' and I might be more forthcoming with an answer," Matt said as he turned fully around, glaring at Wolf.

"What happened... sir?" Wolf questioned nervously. He didn't like the gleam in Matt's eye that signaled something was going to happen. He also kind of figured that he was anxious because he hadn't had anything to eat all day yesterday. His body was definitely feeling the effects of not having enough to eat.

"We're still looking into it. The good doctor seems to think that Cub has the flu on top of having an allergic reaction to his medical cocktail... I'll have to ask him to reassign Cub some new medication that Cub _won't_ get allergic too." Matt sighed. "He's downstairs. I expect you to go to the basement. He will be watching you and Cub today, and Monotaro when he gets back. You will obey him and assist him with whatever he needs. Got it?"

_Don't antagonize the man._

_Don't antagonize the man, Wolf._

_Bite your lip._

_He's not quite as bad as Fox's psychotic character is yet._

"Yes, sir," he said, finally slumping his shoulders in defeat. He really did need to see how Cub was doing and who this mysterious "Dr. Cameroons" was.

He climbed down the stairs to the basement, breathing a temporary sigh of relief as he heard Matt's car pull away.

_And then there was Snake_.

That was right. Snake was a medical doctor - his job was to get close to Matt. He had agreed to watch Cub today; of course he would. Snake would have ulterior motives - motives Matt couldn't possibly know. Snake would want to see Alex well, because Snake cared like that. Wolf would bet a fiver that there was money involved, too.

Snake glanced up as he came downstairs before checking his watch. "And you must be 'Wolf.'"

"And you must be the bastard doctor," Wolf retorted. Snake would have heard about Wolf being a slave, just like Wolf would have heard about Snake being a doctor. God, he hated being left out of the loop of things, but there wasn't much Fox could do without looking suspicious. Fox's area had been bugged, too. He knew Snake lived _close_, he'd heard Fox mention that, but hadn't been aware of the full extent of Snake's cover.

Damn him and getting captured. He had known Snake was a doctor. He should have paid more attention to the name he'd been assigned. Then again, it probably wouldn't have mattered too much. It sounded like it had been changed.

"And you must be the disobedient slave. What happened to your arm?" Snake said as he rose. Wolf flinched, knowing what was coming. Snake could and would make memorizing the Spanish Inquisition look easy compared to the questions he asked when one of the team was injured.

Wolf grimaced, the rules of his slave life suddenly hitting him full force. How was he supposed to answer that?

Monotaro was back with the medicine and quickly handed it off to Snake, then backed away into the corner as if his body was on fire. Snake kept a perfectly straight face as he looked at Wolf and didn't acknowledge the teen's presence. "I _will_ find out what happened to your arm," he added. "Sit over by Monotaro."

Wolf looked at him as if he had three heads before deciding it would be better not to disobey him. Monotaro was a wild card - they really didn't know what he would say to Matt and what he wouldn't, although Wolf supposed that he really could not blame the kid.

He went back to Monotaro, who was under the basement stairs, as far away from Snake and Cub as he could possibly get. "What happened?" he hissed to Monotaro.

Snake checked his watch and sighed, and Wolf winced. "You two can talk, but keep your voices low," he ordered, "and I don't want to know what you're saying."

Monotaro swallowed hard before looking at Wolf. "Cub got sick. Matt woke up. I had to go to the - shit." Monotaro swore before breaking away and handing Snake some cash and the receipt. "Here, Sir. Sorry, Sir," he added, "Sorry. I'm sorry. I forgot."

"That's alright-"

"I'm sorry, I'm sorry," Monotaro added.

Snake closed his eyes and Wolf could tell that the man was trying to be patient. "It's okay, Monotaro. I didn't ask you for it yet. Go sit back down. Now."

They were quickly finding out that the only way to get Monotaro to listen was through an order; the kid was too terrified to listen to anything else. And who blamed him? Anything that he listened too that wasn't a direct order hadn't turned out well.

"I am moving Cub upstairs. Wolf, come help me. Grab his head, and if you drop him, I'll slaughter you," Snake threatened. He sighed. "Oh, yeah. Take off your sling before you do. That arm isn't broken; you can use it to help move him."

Wolf blinked, twice, not used to the medic (and sometimes the only sensible one on their team) threatening injury. He did as he was told.

K-Unit was so way over their heads it wasn't funny. And it wasn't like they could request backup; they didn't know who they could trust... Wolf broke off that train of thought as he abruptly gently grabbed Cub's shoulders.

He knew why Snake was moving the kid upstairs. Or at least he could guess the two reasons. Basements were hardly good conditions to treat someone in. And he likely wanted to give Wolf and Monotaro a chance to talk. Even if the second answer wasn't true, Wolf would make sure he talked to Monotaro, even if he did all the talking.

"You need to learn to be more respectful," Snake said, his voice holding a warning tone. Wolf knew it was because they were in full view of the security cameras. He gritted his teeth and resisted the urge to smack Snake, even though he wanted to. "Set the kid on the couch. Gently."

"You need to learn how not to take people as slaves," Wolf snarled even as they gently laid the kid down on the couch. He hated taking shit from his team.

Snake grabbed Wolf by his shoulders and forced him back against the wall. Wolf winced. He had to admit that he had been doing that partly to see what Snake would do in response. Now he had his answer. "Sorry," he apologized. Snake gave him a narrow, pointed look.

"Sorry, _sir_," he added. With that, Snake released his shoulder. Wolf rubbed it, wincing.

"What happened to your shoulder?" Snake demanded. Wolf winced; he should have known that Snake wasn't going to let this go.

"Nothing."

"Oh, yeah, nothing happened. Wolf, it's clearly at least sprained. I'm going to ask you again. Don't make me punish you for lying." There was a clearly threatening tone that Snake's voice held. Wolf saw through it, more to the point of,_ "Come on, we don't have time for this bullshit."_

Knowing better to disobey, Wolf forcefully exhaled. "I disobeyed Matt... and he saw it fit to break my arm as punishment." At Snake's pointed look, Wolf sighed. "Sir."

"How did he break it?"

"He twisted it behind my back."

"Well, we'd better get it treated, right?" Snake asked.

Wolf groaned; it was going to be a long day. He hated medical stuff.

* * *

Twenty minutes later Wolf came downstairs, a disgruntled look on his face. "Hey," he said, dropping down to the floor. Monotaro seemed nervous, but relaxed more now that he was down there.

"How's Cub?"

"I don't know," Wolf responded honestly, hating to not have the answer to something. "He'll be okay, though," he hastily added, "He's in good hands."

Monotaro all but rounded on him, an angry look on his face. "How can you be sure?" He demanded.

Wolf backed up a little bit. "Whoa. Easy. I'm on your side, here. I know the guy who's treating him. He may be okay with having slaves but he's a medic at heart - Monotaro, are you okay?"

"No," the teenager said, sinking to the floor as he caught his legs. "Oh, no. I just recognized him. The g-guy who's upstairs."

"You did?"

"When I … when I tried to kill myself... he was the one who treated me... and let me go back to Matt."

Well, shit. How could he explain that he knew why Snake had let that happen without jeopardizing everything? "I'm sorry," he apologized. He should just make a record of him recording that for when he talked to Monotaro. He tried to reign in his growl at Matt. Attempting to kill Matt wouldn't be good. It would only end in death. The drug ring would still go on... that's why they had to take Matt and their men down. _Remember, Wolf, you can't go on a killing spree. **YET. **_"Remember what I said about doing that... right?"

"Yes, sir."

"Wolf, not sir," Wolf responded. He felt bad for making the kid call him Wolf on one hand, but on another hand, he really was trying to make the kid feel more comfortable around him and felt like the emphasis that he was a slave would do that, even though he hated calling himself a slave.

Monotaro flinched. "Yes, Wolf."

"I think Cub will be okay," Wolf said. He groaned, realizing he'd forgotten to tell Snake about Cub's hand injury. Shit. Well, it wasn't like Snake wouldn't see it. "Well..." he let his voice trail off, unsure what to talk about.

"What happened, Monotaro?" he asked, finally. "I'm not asking to be mean, I promise; I just want to know. Matt has decided that I should sleep separated from the two of you," he added, rolling his eyes at that.

Monotaro sighed and glanced at Wolf, "Nothing important happened...and it's in the past now I would rather not discuss it. But I'm sorry for what happened to your arm."

Wolf ran his hand over his hair. He would somehow slaughter Matt for how he had treated this kid. And for the fact that he had fucking _broken Wolf's arm. _He hoped Ben gave him hell when he got back although he doubted the SAS man would. "I meant to Cub," he said softly. "And my arm is not your fault," he added.

"Oh…I'm sorry Wolf, I misunderstood. I should have listened better," Monotaro whispered. "As to why Cub got sick...I don't really know. My guess would be Matt pushed the line too far, and it snapped. His body couldn't handle the drugs...so he got severely sick." Monotaro wrapped one of his arms around his stomach.

"I'm going to fucking kill Matt," Wolf muttered, furious. What line too far could Matt have possibly pushed on Alex? The kid had handled at least two MI6 missions relatively fine. What could Matt have done?

"You can't do that!" Monotaro demanded, backing away from Wolf hastily, as if he were on fire. "He's all that I have left."

"What am I, chopped liver?" Wolf asked, oblivious to the seriousness of what Monotaro really believed.

Monotaro just stared at Wolf as if he were crazy, not understanding Wolf's reference. "Did Matt change your drug limit?"

Wolf blinked twice before he realized Monotaro didn't understand the reference. "It's just a figure of speech, Monotaro. Don't stress about it. Are you okay?" That was a stupid question. Of course the kid wasn't okay. None of them were. "I mean, are you unhurt?"

Monotaro opened his mouth before closing it again and reverting his eyes to a patch of mud that got caked into the floor. "I- I think so," Monotaro said unsure of himself. "Does your arm hurt?"

If it had been one of his teammates answering, Wolf would have responded with something to the effect of "Sod off" or "What do you _think_?" But this was Monotaro. Sarcasm hadn't worked well in the past. Why did Wolf think it would work well now? "It stings a little bit," he admitted. "Come on. Why don't you take a nap? You look exhausted, kid."

He knew there wouldn't be anything they could accomplish if Monotaro was physically too tired. The kid was obviously stressed about Cub, and what Cub "might have gone through that was too much for him," according to Monotaro, freaked Wolf out more than he cared to admit.

"But the doctor -"

"I'll wake you up if there's need," Wolf promised. "Go to sleep, Kid. I've got you."

Monotaro blinked, remembering back in the fragment of his mind a time when someone had said that, and it was okay. Maybe if he slept, he could wake up and prove to himself that this was just another nightmare.

So he slid on the floor and slept, ignoring the mattress a few feet away, scared to cross by Wolf.

Wolf waited until he was asleep before removing his sling, picking the too-thin body up, and placing it gently on the bed, ignoring the increasing pain in his arm as he covered Monotaro with a blanket.

He slipped his sling back on and rested against the wall, plotting how he could murder Matt and get away with it and get himself, Cub and Monotaro the hell out of here.

* * *

Snake sighed as he checked out the handiwork for Cub's hand. He guessed that Eagle had done it, from the looks of it. He supposed that he should be glad that it was done at all. He set the boy's hand down gently as he started to stir.

"Cub?" he said forcefully. The teenage boy blinked.

"Who are you?"

"I'm the doctor who treated you at the hospital the other day," Snake said. He could tell from the glare Alex was giving him that he recognized him as Snake, but only as Snake.

"You mean the one who had me handcuffed to the bed!" Cub complained, backing away hastily. Snake was glad to see that he was feeling better.

"You were being non-compliant. Now I'm sorry, but I have to ask some questions about how you've been feeling lately-"

"I've been feeling like shit, does that sum it up?" Alex snapped. He knew that he was probably pressing his boundaries but doubted that the _medic_ of the K-Unit team would beat him.

"Yes, it's a good summary, but I need specifics..."

"You're the doctor; shouldn't you be aware of the side effects of a drug overdose?" Alex questioned.

Snake let out a frustrated breath and tried to tell himself that decking the kid was a bad idea. "Look, kid, I'm sorry for the Spanish Inquisition, but it's not just the drug overdose I need to know about. I need to know about everything that's happened in the past few days. Please don't make me hurt you over this."

"Right, because if you hurt me you'll just end up patching me back up. So by all means, swing away."

"Are you _trying_ to make me hit you?" Snake asked, blinking twice.

Alex shrugged, "If that's what it looks like, then yes."

"Look, I don't want to hurt you. I need to know how you have been feeling. Or do you want me to tell Matt you haven't been following the rules?"

Alex sent a glare at Snake, "You wouldn't dare," he threatened.

"Who is in charge of who here?" Snake asked, raising an eyebrow.

Alex sighed. "Fine, fine... don't play with your power. Just tell me first how are Wolf and Monotaro?"

"I will tell you how they are _after _you tell me. Or would you prefer I put you back in the hands of Matt and allowed you to get sick again? Oh, and I do believe Matt said something about threatening Monotaro if you stepped out of line..." Snake hated to do it but sensed it was the only way Cub would listen.

Alex mentally cursed himself for forgetting that everything they did was somehow then tied to the other two. "After we went to a 'meeting' with Jeff, Matt decided that all the slaves needed to adjust their behavior. So me and Monotaro came here, and he gave me something else when I kept talking...I think that set it off."

Snake nodded. "So... You remember _everything_ that happened to you while you were here?" he pressed. He had heard some horror stories about slaves having memory loss while with their owners due to a traumatic event.

Alex thought for a moment. "Well, no. Not everything, though Monotaro could fill in the blanks...but my memory is shady in some places."

"Do you remember feeling any pain during the parts that you can't fully remember?"

"I..." Alex stared at his hand for a second, then wrapped it around his stomach, in a protective manner. "I don't think I want to remember.."

Snake looked at Alex. "I know it hurts," he said. A sudden thought hit him and he winced; dammit, Cub was _not_ going to like this... "Cub... I need to see if you have any bruises on your stomach."

Alex just stared at him, his mouth dropping open before he closed it. "What? Why would I have bruises there?" he questioned as he slowly lifted up his shirt. His hand trembled at the sight.

This was one question Snake did not want to answer. He knew _why_ there bruises on the side of Cub's stomach. He just didn't want to tell the truth to Cub, it could have been a coincidence, and nothing could have happened... But this is Matt they were talking about, _something_ had to have happened. He just wished he wouldn't have to spell it out to Cub.

Snake sighed, and thought how he would word this. "Cub...Matt is not such a nice guy -" Damn but he was glad this room had no security cameras - it was an awkward conversation to have as it was.

"News flash, everyone knows that," Alex told him, and gritted his teeth together as he poked one of the bruises.

"Yes, well. When you're in the drug business like he is...you begin to take advantage of what you have. Or what you want..." Snake said.

"What are you getting at?" Alex questioned as he poked another bruise, and hissed as it stung. Snake sighed; Cub's torso was covered in bruises. Some, at least, were in various stages of healing and had been treated; but there were others that were fresh.

"Cub, stop," Snake demanded as he grabbed Alex's wrist to prevent him from upsetting his injuries even more.

Alex wrenched his hand away from Snake's, and froze as he saw the old bruise that covered his wrist. "Sorry," he whispered, reverting his eyes down. He didn't feel like he could trust Snake right now and he didn't know why. "What - why are you saying that? Are you trying to buy me off of Matt?" his voice rose slightly. "Are you trying to put me back... with someone else?" At least here at Matt's, he knew what kind of games to play.

"Cub, why the hell would you think that? That is not the point I am trying to make here," Snake told him.

"Don't hurt me!" Alex yelled, backing further away from Snake's hand as Snake attempted to put a bandage on Alex's cut. "Get away from me!"

"Dammit, Cub, would you calm down for a second!"

_I've got to calm down. I've got to calm down. _"I'm sorry," Alex said. "I'm sorry. Please don't hurt Monotaro. Please don't hurt him or Wolf," he pleaded.

Snake sighed and sat back down, "All right Cub, I won't hurt anyone. Now how about you sit back down, and take a few seconds to calm down while I wrap your wrist?"

"Ask your damn question first that you want to know so that I can know about Monotaro and Wolf," Alex said. He wrapped his hand closer around his body in case Snake suddenly decided to attack. Fox's character was a psychopath, Eagle was nice, Wolf was a slave; he had no idea what Snake's personality was like. "Why did you want to check my stomach for bruises?"

Snake ran a hand through his hair, and sighed. "You might want to sit down first, then I will ask my question." He glared at Alex when he didn't move, daring him to disobey. But Alex sighed and sat on the corner of the chair he once occupied. Snake nodded, "Good, now Cub. This is hard for me to explain, but I have supporting evidence that Matt could have sexually assaulted you. That's why I had you lift your shirt. I just need to know for medical reasons, Cub," he added quickly, although inside he was seething.

"The fuck..." Alex commented. "You're a damn liar! Matt's - Matt's - eww!" he wrapped his arms around himself.

"No Cub, it's the truth -"

"Shut up! I don't want to hear you right now."

"Cub..." Snake said, then stopped; unsure of himself. "Look, it's just for medical reasons. That's the only reason I need to know."

"Yeah right. I would never do something so low like that!" Alex snapped at him.

Snake frowned. "What do you mean?" he asked. Somehow, he would have to explain his interrogation of Alex to Matt; he really wasn't looking forward to that.

At least Matt _might_ believe Snake needed to know about the sexual assault only for medical reasons.

"What do I mean?" Alex questioned then glared at Snake. "What do I mean?" he repeated again, louder this time. "I am not some whore that sleeps around!"

_Now_ Snake saw the problem. He couldn't put this any other way except in a blunt way. "Cub, what I meant was, did Matt rape you?"

"He...he - what?" Alex questioned, confused.

"You know what I'm asking, Cub," Snake said, gently. "Did Matt touch you in any sort of sexual way non-consensually?"

"Not that I know of... but why the hell would it be consensual? I never wanted it..." Alex looked away from Snake, embarrassed, when his sight landed on his hurt wrist. He observed it, and then slowly tilted and turned it. He gently clasped his other hand around his wrist and found an almost exact match.

"Thanks for telling me, Cub," Snake said, although he kept his seething inside. How could Matt do that to anyone? He couldn't look mad at Cub though; he knew that Cub had trusted him. He didn't know how far it had gone, didn't want too and didn't need too.

Alex sobbed as he finally realized what Snake was saying. The tears came from his cheeks. "Snake," he whispered. "What the hell did Matt do to me?"

Damn. He really didn't know how to handle it. He needed to go get Wolf. "Kid... I'm the wrong person to ask," he whispered. "Let me patch up your arms, and then I'll go get Wolf, okay? Maybe Wolf can help explain. But my name isn't Snake," he added.

Alex flinched away from Snake's touch and buried himself in his shirt. He felt like he was going to vomit.

"I'm sorry...Just," he held out his wrist. "Just cover them up, I don't want to look at them anymore."

Snake did as Cub asked, all the meanwhile thinking that they had to get him and Monotaro out of there and as far away from Matt as possible.

* * *

So there you have it - the 'hidden' reason why Cub has been acting so submissive (other than, of course, the drugs). Remember, review, get a sneak peak. Review, answer a challenge, and get a two paragraph sneak peak. I may even be tempted to give out a three paragraph or so sneak peak of next chapter... we'll have to see.

Challenges:

What will the K-Unit do now with Cub and Monotaro? Will they be able to get them out?

How, in the upcoming chapters, will Wolf's role as a slave differ from Monotaro's and Cub's role as a slave, if the K-Unit isn't able to get them out?

Thanks again for your reviews. I look forward to providing the sneak peaks! Even though we have this written, reviews inspire us to post at our dates/times and give us feedback. Sometimes we tweak things a tad and add in a few details. So just know they are useful, no matter how long or how short!

CONTEST: By the way, if you are feeling really brave and have a bit of free time, **anyone** who writes a **100** **word** review (yes, we'll take 99 words or over 100 words) will be able to get an early sneak peak of next week's chapter - **the entire thing** - and the ability to write one of the challenges! Please don't just repeat 'great chapter' over and over again. That's hard on the eyes. You get the idea. Dinosaur and I will PM you before we post to do this. Make sure you have DocX abilities so that we can simply send you the chapter to make things easy.

Thanks,

Writers4All


	13. Johnson Bought a Legit Slave

**A/N about the rating: We were thinking about the rating that this story has and decided, ultimately, to put it under the rating of T. According to the site, T 'Suitable for teens, 13 years and older, with some violence, minor coarse language, and minor suggestive adult themes.' I think everything applies here.**

**Although I don't think Matt will settle for "some violence..." *glares at Matt* **

**A/N: Glad you're enjoying. Someone asked why Alex is being so 'weak.' He's still recovering from his MI6 missions. The drugs that Matt is giving him are really making him sick. He's also been physically traumatized ****(see chapter 12), and he is a teenage boy. An exceptional teenage boy, but still a teenage boy. Good question though. **

**Disclaimer: Really, we've said that in chapter one. We'll repeat it again though. We don't own any of them (with the exception of the origonal characters, like Matt/Monotaro/Jeff). The others belong to Anthony Horwitz. And right now, technically, Matt's kind of 'owning' Alex and Wolf... :-)**

**Anyway, we've updated!**

**Oh, and don't worry about saying please update. Dinosaur and I love hearing that because it means you love our story! Yay for awesomeness! **

**-CHAPTER THIRTEEN- ^^**

Cub continued to get better for the next two days. Snake made daily visits down to the house. He glared at Wolf each time that Wolf spotted a new bruise from Matt, and Wolf found that more unsettling than the beatings Matt doled out like... Wolf didn't even know.

All he knew was that he hated him but couldn't get away with killing him yet.

Luckily, Monotaro managed to escape any punishment for going to the store, for which he and Wolf were both relieved. Wolf kept trying to reign in his temper, which was hard. Matt just seemed to piss him off. And that was with Matt seeming to be more docile lately - less focused on controlling them and more focused on something else. Wolf didn't know what it was but he was grateful for the reprieve. Wolf was too busy focusing on not killing him for what he'd done to Cub, and was worried that he might snap if Matt pushed him again. He focused on keeping himself under control, and to his surprise, things were running pretty smoothly, all things considered...

Until Fox got back, and he found out what Fox had done while he was gone; where Fox had been, and why Matt was happier.

Fox came back to collect him all too soon. At least here he could keep an eye on Cub and Monotaro; at Fox's house he couldn't do that. Fox greeted him with a sneer of contempt and an angry look in his eye that let Wolf know exactly who he'd been dealing with (he had guessed MI6 - he wasn't sure what had happened, but apparently Fox wasn't as happy with the outcome. It didn't really matter though. He'd know soon enough.).

"Thanks for watching Wolf," he told Matt.

Matt smirked. "Not a problem. He may be a bit sore - he didn't get a bed when he was here."

"What happened to his arm?"

At this, Wolf looked over at Matt. Although he would tell Fox the full story later, he did not know what story Matt expected him to tell.

"He was being disobedient."

Fox raised an eyebrow. "So you _broke_ his arm?"

"It's not broken, it's only sprained," Matt reassured him, "and yes, he was more than disrespectful... I feel as though you should discuss that with him."

Yes, his arm was only sprained, according to Snake. Thank God for small favors, right? Whatever the correct term his hand still hurt like nothing doing. Thankfully Snake had given him some painkillers. While he hated taking painkillers, he was grateful for the chance to not be in pain. It allowed himself to keep the kids safe.

And he'd sure be _discussing_

"I most certainly will. Thank you for letting me know. How is Cub? I had heard he was ill."

_Ill because he was drugged,_ Wolf thought to himself, resisting the urge to speak up. Fox wouldn't hesitate to punish him in front of Matt.

"Word gets around fast in this community, doesn't it? He will be fine in a few days, although the medic says he is not ready for work yet," Matt explained.

"I live near the medic, so that's how I heard, but I hadn't known that he would get better soon. Well, I'm happy for you, but I have to be off. I'll see you Tuesday to discuss what we've learned?"

"Sounds excellent," Matt nodded. Wolf didn't look away as money exchanged hands - Fox's money given to Matt for "watching" Wolf. Wolf blushed; the act made him feel as though he was two years old and needed a babysitter.

How did Cub and Monotaro deal with this all the time? At least he had a chance for hope for escape - soon; they didn't. All they had was... well, him.

That knowledge did not rest well with Wolf.

_They had to get these kids out of here._

Wolf and Fox walked away from Matt's house, and Wolf could feel a vibe of anger coming from Fox. Something was up, Wolf knew, but didn't know what.

"Get in the car," Fox snapped as he was already halfway in the driver's seat.

Wolf did as he was told, making sure to get in the back seat of Fox's car. He knew slaves weren't allowed to sit in the front seat. It wasn't a battle worth getting beaten up over. "Why are you mad at me? I was good at Matt's house!"

"I'm not mad," Fox said as he pulled away. "I'm pissed. It's because of your lack of respect that you broke your arm. And add to the fact that I had to drop what I was doing to come and get you today. You were originally supposed to stay at Matt's house another few days - but we're having a crisis now."

Wolf blinked, twice. Damn. He had a nagging feeling that there were bugs in the car; Fox was usually not this tense when they weren't being watched. He relaxed a little bit on the seat. He really was too used to giving orders, he decided. "How is Cub?" he asked quietly. "They wouldn't tell me."

"Cub is having problems of his own. But he's the least of your worries, you need to focus on what is going to happen next," Fox commented.

"What, are you going to sell me as a sex slave or something?" Wolf drawled. "And I meant the physical condition, like as in _will he live_?"

"If you push me, I _might_ consider selling you. And why the hell do you care about Cub anyway? He's fucking fine, so don't worry about him," Fox snapped as he turned to glare at Wolf before focusing his attention back to the road.

Wolf decided to drop the subject... now what? Should he just sit quietly? That wasn't really in his nature. "What is going to happen next... sir? Oh, and Sir, I'm sorry I forgot, but the medic told me to give these too you." Wolf held out the bottle of painkillers with his good arm. They were still about half an hour from Fox's house. He had enough time to make Fox forget to punish him.

"Are you serious?" he questioned as he snatched the bottle out of Wolf's hand. He read the label and threw it back at Wolf. "Cut the dosage in half, you don't need all that shit fogging your brain."

"Yes, sir," Wolf said, fully intending to disobey as he stuck the bottle in his pocket. Fox would never check.

"Do you remember the rules while you're in my house?"

"Yes, Sir. No shagging the house-elves, don't get drunk and come in by nine o'clock." Crazy as it was - that was their code. Fox would punish Wolf if there was someone else listening in and would laugh like hell if he was alone.

It worked.

Fox chuckled, "Yes, that's right. I needed to make sure because we are going to have a visitor for a few days...possibly a week. Probably not in our house, but we need to be prepared just the same."

"Oh... wonderful… Who?" Wolf demanded.

"His name is Steven," Fox told him. "Though he would be better known and respected as Matt's brother."

"Aw, shit." Just what they needed... another Matt.

* * *

"Cub, it's time for breakfast," Monotaro said gently as he touched the kid's forehead before pulling back. The kid was warm.

"I don't want to eat...I'm not hungry. Go away," Alex swatted at Monotaro's hand. Monotaro's concern grew; Alex hadn't been the same as he had before that medic had looked at him. Sure, the medic had patched him up physically. But still Cub hadn't been as challenging, as daring as he'd been before. Monotaro sighed, hoping they would both make it out of this alive.

It was then that Matt came down the stairs. "Breakfast time, boys!"

Monotaro glanced at Alex once more before turning to Matt. "I'm worried, Sir. He's sick..." he whispered before moving away. He hated Matt.

Matt sighed before shoving Monotaro back towards the wall and shaking Cub. "Get up before I call that medic back here and have him put you down."

Alex had half the means of responding with _I'm not a damn dog._ But something stopped him, so he replied with, "I don't feel good. Give my food to Monotaro."

"Again?" Matt exploded. Alex had stood up ever so slightly as he had said that, so Matt grabbed Alex by the shoulders and threw him back against the wall. "How much money am I going to have to spend to get you well? What did you do to your body?" Alex coughed as he slid down the wall and sat curled up on the floor. He just wanted to sleep, and not deal with anything.

"Get _up_!" Matt said, kicking Cub in his already bruised stomach. Alex groaned and attempted to cover his stomach with his arms as he moved away in pain.

"Don't hurt him!" Monotaro cried. "He's not lying, Sir! He's sick!"

"Who are you to tell me what to do?" Matt demanded, rounding on Monotaro.

Monotaro backed away two steps. "Please, I'll do whatever you want... just call a doctor for him."

"Don't call the doctor...I'll just lay here until I die..." Alex mumbled.

"Monotaro, stay with him. Cub, you're not going to fucking die. I'm not losing my property. Got it?" With that, he put out the cigarette that Monotaro hadn't even realized he'd lit on Cub's arm.

"Shit," Alex cursed, but found himself lacking the motivation to move away from the burning cigarette.

"You're not going to get him better with that kind of care!" Monotaro flared.

Matt turned at Monotaro, shoving him back against the wall before forcefully grabbing his chin. "You listen here, dammit. My brother is going to be visiting soon and I want you two under control and in the best shape possible. Now shut up and watch Cub - I've got to call the damn medic."

"Cub, remember that promise that Wolf made me make?" Monotaro asked as soon as Matt left the basement.

"Ummm, I can't remember. Could you remind me?" Alex asked as he glanced at Monotaro.

"He made me promise not to die," Monotaro responded. "Don't you dare break that promise, either. We'll get through this together."

Alex shook his head. "I'm not so sure if I can. It's so hard, Monotaro."

_I know, _Monotaro thought._ "_Well, then promise to do so for me, okay?"

"Whatever makes you happy," Alex replied before burying his face in the pillow.

* * *

_TWO DAYS LATER_

"Oh, Monotaro!" Matt called, laughing just a bit. "Usually, I would _never_ agree to sell him. He's my best slave. But the price you're offering is more than fair, and I know you'll take care of him. Besides, Benjamin is right. You need a slave and Cub is still extremely disobedient."

"Yeah, I'd rather have a slave I don't have to beat every night," Eagle said in agreement.

"You wanted me, sir?" Monotaro questioned as he stood in the doorway, keeping the distance between them.

Eagle laughed, feeling bad for doing so, but having to keep in character. "Oh, he only wants you for a few more minutes until I pay for you. Then he really doesn't care shit what happens, right Matt?"

Monotaro stared wide-eyed at the man. Was this guy serious? What happened? And what did he mean by "pay for him?" That could mean _nothing_ good, _nothing_ good at all.

"What do you think of him? I forgot to warn you that he still thinks he can talk."

"Well, he looks healthy. Get over here, kid," Eagle said, way too gruffly for his taste, but he had to look good or he would never be able to purchase the kid. He had to keep reminding himself of that.

Monotaro froze for a second, playing the scenarios in his mind. If he walked right up to him, then he might be making a mistake. What would happen to Alex? Although if he didn't move, then he could be punished. And this new guy looked like he wouldn't take shit.

"Get _over_ here!" Eagle said, frustrated. "You don't mind, do you?" he asked, glancing at Matt.

Matt shook his head.

Eagle walked over and grabbed Monotaro by his collar. "When I said _get over here_, I meant it! What did you think I was going to do, beat you up the second I laid eyes on you?"

Monotaro didn't know how to answer that question, because honestly it was the truth. Even despite trying to hide his fear, he couldn't help the flinch that snuck out.

"You have your slaves well trained," Eagle commented. He felt sick for doing so, but had been warned about Matt through Wolf. They all had to keep up their worst fronts in front of him. He was at the center of this drug ring.

"Thank you. This one has been in the system for quite awhile. I do forget Monotaro; how old are you? Not that it really matters... although some people have a sexual age preference..." Matt let his voice trail off. "I mean, some people want to know the age of their slaves."

Monotaro had to pause a second before answering, all to make sure that he could keep down last night's dinner. He hated Matt calling him _this one_, but it was better than some things he could be calling him, so he shut up. "I- I'm fourteen sir."

"Fourteen..." Eagle let out a breath. The same age as Cub. "Damn. Too young for me. I'm really not into them until they hit about eighteen or so. Still, I'd be more than interested in him as a slave for other... services. What are you good at, Monotaro?"

Monotaro looked up at him as if he were crazy. No one had ever asked him, namely Matt, what he was good at. He got assigned a task, and he got it done, no exceptions.

Eagle sighed. "What's he good at, Matt?"

"Oh, this one's good at many different things. He always manages to get the task done somehow. Although his math skills are lacking - he can only count up to a hundred and can only do simple addition. I don't use him to sell drugs on the street, either. I think he has this idea that he can still run away. Monotaro, how high can you count? I forget."

"...Not very high," Monotaro told him, feeling ashamed. His cheeks burned in shame but he tried to ignore it.

"Not very high... Well - I won't need him to do much math - but go ahead and show me how high you can count." Eagle felt like a jerk but wanted some idea of what skills Monotaro had so that he could figure out what he was going to tell the kid when he left here.

Monotaro swallowed and started to count, "One, two, three, four..." he continued on until he got to sixty eight. Then for the life of him, he couldn't remember. His mind just drew a blank.

"Good enough," Eagle said with a shrug. "I'll take him. How much do you want for him?"

"Five grand, I think. What do you think, Monotaro? Five grand enough for Eagle to take you away?" Matt asked as he chuckled, not expecting a response from Monotaro.

"I'm not a fucking toy you can just toss aside when you're grow bored of it!" Monotaro snapped. Then as soon as he said it, he wished he could have taken it back. Maybe this guy would be nicer than Matt. He sank onto the couch, biting his lip again.

"You're right," Matt responded, grabbing him by his hair, "You're a person. A slave who will bring me lots of money. Johnson... Where should I put him until we complete the deal?"

"He can just sit on the couch," Eagle said.

Monotaro winced as Matt tightened his grip and tossed him on the couch. "Don't move," Matt threatened. Monotaro could see the glare in his eye and sank back into the couch.

"I assume you want that five grand in cash," Eagle said, reaching for his backpack. He glanced at the corner of the room to see another figure.

"What are you doing to Monotaro?" Alex questioned as he walked towards the couch.

"Selling him. Johnson needs a slave, and Jeff just purchased another one, so because we've fully trained Monotaro, you can go. Not that it's any of your business," Matt added. "Sit on the couch, Cub."

Alex plopped down next to Monotaro and shot a worried glance at him. "If you sell Monotaro I want to go with him," he told Matt.

"You're not trained yet," was Matt's simple way of dismissing the notion.

"Well whose fault is that?" Alex questioned.

"Don't test me on this," Matt warned. "You're already in the doghouse for back talking to the doctor. Now - as we were saying, Johnson..."

Monotaro winced and glanced at Alex, "Cub..." he whispered.

But Monotaro didn't need to worry about Alex talking anymore, because as soon as Matt mentioned the doctor and back talking, Alex clamped up and stared at his wrist, the one that Snake had oh-so-nicely bandaged.

The exchange between Johnson and Matt took less than fifteen minutes, and then Eagle said, "Monotaro, let's go. Does he need to take any of his belongings?"

"Not unless you don't want to buy any new clothes for him."

"Nah, I'll take care of that," Eagle said, looking at Monotaro's shaggy appearance. He would get the kid new clothes; that was for sure. "Oh, and one more thing. If I want to, can I rename him?"

"I don't wear a collar that you can just switch names out anytime you feel like it!" Monotaro informed Eagle.

"Shut up before I decide to name you bitch or whore," Eagle responded. He hated being mean but it was part of the game.

"If you want." Matt smirked at Eagle. He would miss toying with Monotaro's mind, but he had Cub to train now. "I have Cub now. He'll be fun to train and then give back to Jeff-" he stopped, surprised to see the teenage boy raise from his seat.

"I am not some whore you can toy around with," Alex told Matt.

"Really? Because that didn't seem to be the case a few days ago," Matt told him with a smirk that reached the corner of his eyes, sending Alex into a full-scale flashback.

-FLASHBACK-

_Alex blinked hazily as he missed a step and tumbled to the floor. He heard someone sigh dramatically and lift him up by his arm._

"_Come on Cub, we are almost there."_

_Matt...Alex's brain recognized. And he was going to ask where they were going, but he got distracted by all of the scuff marks on the wall._

_He felt like he was floating, but Matt brought him back to reality when he tightened his grip on him. He realized they had walked through the whole house, and were now standing in front of a door._

"_Now, you won't tell anyone about this little... adventure, right Cub?" Alex could barely think but hugged himself tighter. For some reason everything hurt..._

_Matt unlocked the door and pushed him forward. Alex landed on the floor, and he didn't feel the need to get up._

"_Get up, take off your shirt, and get on the bed," Matt demanded._

-END FLASHBACK-

"See? Now he's quiet... I swear that one is not ready to go on the market yet. Monotaro! Get over here!"

Monotaro stared at Alex. "Cub?" he whispered.

"Cub, quit sulking," Matt snapped. "We're going to work on our schooling later-"

"The hell, I'm not going anywhere with you!" Alex snapped at him and stepped away to the other corner.

"Control yourself, Cub. You're on thin ice - see you later, Johnson - Monotaro... you belong to Johnson now, listen to him, understand?" Matt snapped.

Monotaro hastily nodded. But before he could move Alex grabbed his hand and tightened his grip. He glanced up at him in shock, but felt defeated when he saw the way Alex looked.

"Monotaro isn't going anywhere," Alex told Matt. "We are walking out of here, and there is nothing you can do about it."

"Alex, sit down on the couch." With that, Matt gripped him firmly by the arm and dropped him down.

Monotaro swallowed hard as he turned towards Alex, whispering, _"I'll see you sometime_," before he was forced to leave with Johnson.

* * *

_Challenges:_

_Thanks to giverofgrace and It'sFun2BCrazy, who all helped with the challenges! Also thanks to Mythomagic-Champion and Anonomon13. I'm sorry that I never got your challenges. If you have one after this, you can review and submit it or send me a PM and I'll add it in. Thanks for writing a 100 word review - we used your awesome feedback! And I can't help but say thanks to all the awesome reviewers, like LarkaTheWhiteWolf, Tedrenia, Sejm buyer vise, Pessimistic Guardian Angel, Wolfwind97, and Josephine!  
_

_From giverofgrace: What do you think is going to happen to Cub/Alex now that Monotaro and Wolf aren't there to protect him from Matt?_

_From It'sFunToBeCrazy: What is Matt going to do to Cub/Alex now that Monotaro & Wolf aren't there?_

_From us: What will the next major plot twist and turn be? And will Matt's brother ever show up?_

_Review! Don't forget that if you review you'll get a one paragraph sneak peak, and if you review and answer a challenge we'll give you a two paragraph sneak peak! Thanks to everyone! _


	14. Domestic Violence Begins

CHAPTER FIFTEEN [Chapters 13 and 14 were combined to make it longer/more up with what we usually've been doing.]

* * *

"Get in the car," Eagle demanded Monotaro, taking a brief second to observe the kid. He could tell the kid was terrified and probably felt betrayed that Matt had sold him - then again, maybe he felt like it was a good thing Matt had sold him. Eagle didn't know. "You can sit in the front."

Monotaro wordlessly got into the front seat. He stared at Matt's house though as Eagle pulled away. Though he briefly wondered how Johnson would treat him, he was more worried about Alex being there alone with Matt...he didn't even want to think of the possibilities of what would happen before he saw the kid again. But there was nothing he could do about it now.

"So... Monotaro, what's your real name?" Eagle asked, breaking the silence. "I need to know for my records."

"My real name… is Niles," Monotaro told him, wondering why the hell anyone would ask him that. He couldn't remember the last time – no, he could remember the last time someone had asked him that; it had been Wolf.

"Do you have a last name?" Johnson asked.

"What?" Monotaro questioned, freezing. What was a last name?

"Your last name... Like... what comes after Niles. Not a middle name..." Eagle let his voice trail off. Just how much had Matt controlled this kid?

"I am confused as to what you're asking?" Monotaro responded.

"Last name..." They were at a stop light so Eagle took his head and hit it against the steering wheel. He would fucking _kill_ Matt.

"Don't... don't do that," Monotaro told him, as he reached out a barely touched his shoulder, concerned for Johnson's well-being. He really hoped Matt hadn't sold him to another psychopath. "I have no clue what a 'last name' means...you, you could give me one if you'd like?" he asked, hoping to pacify Johnson.

Eagle sighed dramatically and stepped on the accelerator. "Look, kid - Niles. It's not that easy. A last name identifies you. Even more so than a first name. Every person gets one when they're born. It gets passed down from their parents. Do you remember your parents' names?"

Monotaro looked out the window, his eye caught a bird that quickly took flight. "My...my mother's name was Katherine. I-I can't remember my father's name."

Eagle just groaned silently. "Thanks, that is useful information." He sighed, wondering what to say next. "So... uhm..." he let his voice trail off. "Can you tell me what your past was like? I'm sorry to ask all of these questions..." He didn't want to say he'd never owned a slave before; but he did want some excuse to get information out of Monotaro - it might be the only chance they got.

"What past are you referring to...?" Monotaro asked, he was really confused at all of these questions. Why did Johnson care? When Matt had bought him, he hadn't asked nearly so many questions.

_I will not kill him. It is not his fault that he does not know what I mean._ "Like... what did you do for Matt and Jeff?"

"I...didn't they tell you already?"

"Yes, but I would like to hear it from you..."

"I made and sold drugs...stayed out of their way for the most part., did what I was ordered..."

Eagle could see this wasn't going anywhere; he'd have to get the information out of Wolf somehow. "Okay... thanks. So... what do you like to do?"

Monotaro didn't say anything for a while, after a few minutes though he spoke up. "What do you like to do?"

_This was going nowhere_. New question time. "Okay... Monotaro... I give in. I guess we should lay down the rules."

Monotaro swallowed and listened closely to what Eagle said next. This was part of where he would find out his fate and how badly he would be treated.

"Rule number one: Don't bother me too much, unless it's important...like you're dying or something. Rule number two: I don't want you to talk unless I ask you a specific question. But if you do, I will listen to you, and take your opinion into consideration. Which leads to my next order: Always listen to me, and follow my orders. Otherwise I will be forced to punish you. Are you listening to me, Monotaro?" Eagle questioned as he glanced over to the passenger seat to see the teen looking out the window.

"Yes sir," he replied.

Eagle nodded, "My next two rules are, you can drop the sir unless we are in public. And the most important one is you can't take any drugs at my house. It may be difficult for you because Matt said you had a drug problem, but it won't be accepted in my house."

Monotaro hastily nodded. "Y-yes." What did the man want him to call him when he was alone?

"When we're alone, you can just call me Steve." Eagle smiled at Monotaro, trying to make him feel more relaxed. "Here we are... at the store. I am going to get you some new clothes and things."

Monotaro stared at him. "Why do I need new clothes...what's wrong with the ones I'm wearing?" A panicked thought ran through his head. "What do you - what do I have to do with the clothes? Sir?" he had completely forgotten already about dropping the term sir; he was too panicked on why he would need new clothes.

Eagle sighed and unbuckled his seatbelt. "You need new clothes because I said so. You aren't going to be wearing those," he referred to the clothes Monotaro had on now, "twenty-four seven."

Monotaro swallowed his fear and followed the man into the store. He was terrified at seeing so many people again but tried to shove it down. He didn't know what he would have to do to earn the new clothes but guessed he was getting them one way or the other. "Where are we going... sir?"

"It's Steve," Eagle commented. "And we are headed to the teenage section where we will buy you clothes. And pick out anything you like, don't worry about the price."

Eagle was too busy focusing on where they were going, and he missed the look of fear that crossed Monotaro's face. Monotaro just nodded and followed Sir... no Steve to the store. He didn't like this but it looked like he had no choice.

"Here we are," Eagle told him as he stopped in front of a display. "What's your size, Niles?"

"Size?" Monotaro blinked twice, first at hearing his real name and then at the question. "uh... Matt said... medium for t-shirts and..." he swallowed hard, trying desperately to remember the last time Matt had grumbled about buying him clothes. "Twelve for pants?" he questioned.

Eagle looked Monotaro up and down, believing that he was a size twelve, the kid was tiny. "We can try on a few different sizes, don't fret about it. But when you live in my house you have to eat at least three meals a day, understand?"

_No! _Monotaro wanted to scream. He didn't understand why Sir - Steve - was being so nice to him. But he just nodded and followed the man into the clothing room. "What... what option first?"

"Grab a few medium shirts and multiple jeans in different sizes," Eagle told him. Shopping was so not his thing. But the kid really needed the clothes, and who was he to deny that little necessity?

"W-what type of..." Monotaro let his voice trail off, and somehow Eagle understood.

"Let's start with the shirts..."

* * *

Monotaro's eyes had bugged out when he had seen the total cost for clothes, but the man who paid didn't even flinch. It had been way higher than he could count up too - triple digits. What favor did this man want? Why did he have to look nice? What should he do? "What are you going to have me do... Sir?" he asked. "You know... because I'm your slave..." he looked down at his shoes. They were new, too.

"Well you can start by stop calling me sir, my name is Steve," Eagle told him. "The next thing is just listen to what I tell you, and don't question my authority. I run another business, so I may need help with that, you would be like an assistant."

"A-A-s-s-sistant... y-yes Steve. I can do that." Monotaro didn't want to know what that meant but guessed he would find out soon enough. The next thing he knew, Steve pulled into a neighborhood. "W-w-where do I s-s-sleep?"

"You can sleep in Cub's old room, or the guest room I suppose, however the door does have a lock on it. Though I'm sure most of Matt's doors had locks anyway." Eagle looked at Monotaro, and saw his face. It looked broken at the mention of a lock. "Don't worry kid, you won't be cooped up all day. I wanted to continue your education, which would happen on Monday, Wednesday, and Friday."

"Education?" Monotaro parroted.

"Yes, you know like homeschooling? Did Matt even give you the basics?" Eagle questioned, though he already knew the answer.

"Basics?" Monotaro blinked twice as they pulled in the driveway. He swallowed hard when he saw the other car there. Dammit. That couldn't be good... He didn't know who the car belonged too, but visitors were rarely good.

"Shit," Eagle cursed, and took the keys out of the ignition. "Get out of the car, and bring your clothes," he ordered as he walked up the the door. "Ben! How good to see you," he lied.

"It is," Ben commented. "Thought I would stop by...who is that?" he asked, referring to Monotaro.

"That's Monotaro, I just bought him," Eagle told Ben and shoved him aside from the doorway. "Wolf, take Monotaro to the guest bedroom."

Wolf did as he was told, and helped Monotaro with his bags. As they walked there Ben snapped his fingers, "I thought he looked familiar. He's the bastard that lived with Matt."

"Leave the kid alone," Wolf growled through hissed teeth even as he and Monotaro made way through the door.

"You want to keep running that mouth of yours? Go ahead and be my guest, however expect a punishment when we get home," Ben told Wolf.

Wolf, feeling the pain from his already bruised jaw, chose to remain silent as he and Monotaro made their way into the house. "This way," he said. They walked to the room behind the kitchen, where Wolf set down the bags. "This is the room that E-I mean, Steve mentioned. You'll be staying here."

"But-I get a whole room to myself?" Monotaro asked, blinking twice.

"Yes, you do. Don't worry. I know Steve, he's a pretty good guy. Come on, let's get these unpacked."

* * *

## transition to Fox and Eagle ##

"So why are you here?" Eagle demanded as he crossed his arms. "Funny thing that you just so_ happened_ to show up after I got a new slave. What are you - jealous? And what happened to Wolf's eye and jaw?"

Fox shrugged, "What can I say, we were going to stop by later tonight, but when I heard the news I had to come over for myself. Who would have thought Johnson actually _bought a legit slave?_"

"Now you watch it," Eagle warned. He understood that Fox had to be psychotic for his character. They all did. That did not mean that they had to like it. Besides, it was his character's job to fight with Ben. It made life interesting. "You never answered my questions... what happened to Wolf's eye and are you jealous? Because if you're jealous that I have a young slave..." Eagle let his voice trail off.

"Wolf had an accident, ran into my fist after disobeying a direct order. But don't worry, we got it all figured out. Please, I am not jealous, I am not some sick fuck like Matt. Though I do wonder why he sold that kid to you? I heard he was good in all areas if you know what I mean."

Eagle felt sick to his stomach. "How about we go inside, and sit down. We need to talk about Monotaro's education and _your boundaries _- or lack thereof."

Fox shrugged and followed him into the living room. "Has he had any previous education?"

"Some. He can count to sixty-eight; that's about all I know. I was thinking you could educate him on Mondays and Fridays at the same time as Cub as long as Matt is okay with having Cub over here - and as long as you could keep your paws off of him of course."

"Sixty-eight...you have to be joking? And you don't have to worry about me. Everything I do is justifiable. Cub got hurt because he provoked me. Now I say, you need to be more firm with Monotaro. He needs to know what he can and can't do."

"We have already discussed the rules. Monotaro! Wolf! Get in here," Eagle barked. When Monotaro sheepishly came in the room, he glanced quickly at Ben and bowed his head. Steve hadn't instructed him on how to interact with others.

"We're discussing your education. We're going to educate you with Cub. On Friday Ben will come and give you some tests. Oh, and will you be tutoring Wolf on Friday as well?"

"I'm pretty sure I can beat Ben," Wolf commented. He knew exactly what Ben would be "tutoring" him in.

"That seems to be the case," Ben told Eagle, ignoring Wolf.

"I don't need to be tutored!" Wolf responded, putting himself directly in front of Ben. He was sick and tired of being ignored. Actually, he was just plain old sick and tired. He knew he hadn't been eating well lately. Ben had been giving him pretty much the least amount of food possible, and he hadn't been getting enough sleep, either. He just wanted to eat and then sleep. "I already understand your fucking rules fine! I just choose not to follow them! What part of that is so hard for you to understand? I'm not doing community service; I'm being forced to serve blackmail!"

Ben stood up, angry at Wolf's disobedience. Monotaro could see his face start to turn red before he took a deep breath to try and calm himself down. "And what I don't understand is how you can still mouth off to me when you _obviously_ know who is in charge?"

Eagle raised an eyebrow. "And you were yelling at me for controlling _my_ slave?"

"I'm not a slave! I'm a human being. Perhaps you've forgotten what that is?" Wolf snapped. He was trying to get Fox to leave. He was exhausted and had been up for thirty-six hours straight with no sleep and little food, and Fox had promised he could go to sleep when they left here. "You promised I could go to sleep when we were done here, remember? I just want to go away from this place."

"I'll let that little 'human being' comment slide, for now. However we will leave here in a second, I need to talk to Monotaro."

Monotaro's eyes widened as Ben stalked towards him. However, much to his surprise, Steve maneuvered himself in front of Ben. "Everything you say to Monotaro can be said in front of me. You will not be physically harming my slave. How I treat Monotaro is not up for your discussion."

Ben pursed his lips, and thought about it. He raised his hands up, and took a step back. "Alright, just don't complain to me when he tries to run away."

"Trust me, it won't be you I'm complaining too, and who wouldn't want to run away from someone like you? Now if you'll excuse me, I'm hungry, and I'm sure Monotaro is too. Oh, and if Wolf runs away, don't come crying to me. I'd offer him shelter if it would protect you from killing him. You can be irrational at times, _Benjamin_."

"I am not being irrational! It's the truth, just look at Monotaro's ankle. He has a tracking anklet, if that doesn't show he's run away once I don't know what does. And if he tried to run away once, he will no doubt try it again. I'm just warning you for the future hassle, you should keep a close eye on him. Come on Wolf, we're leaving."

Wolf looked crushed. "Can't I stay here? At least _he_ feeds me."

"No," Ben responded curtly. "If you keep up that backtalk then I won't feed you for a few days, now get in the car."

"I'm staying here." Wolf planted his feet. He got such a huge kick out of antagonizing Fox, and besides he could always steal food while cooking his meals. Ben never checked that.

Ben sighed and rubbed his face. "Wolf, if you don't get in the fucking car, now - then I will be forced to do something drastic."

"Way to control your slave, Ben," Eagle commented.

"You - shut up. Oh, I know why Wolf isn't being compliant. He didn't take his dose of drugs today. Well, consider it doubled, tripled if you don't get in the car."

"I'm staying here. E-I mean S-whatever his name is says there's food. You haven't fed me in three fucking days! I'm hungry!" Wolf had been fed yesterday, but he was still hungry. And exhausted.

Monotaro flinched at the way Ben was glaring at Wolf. "Wolf..." he whispered. "I think you should go with him..." He hoped he said it quietly so no one could hear.

"Maybe you should feed him," Eagle remarked, stepping in. "Wolf, I'm sorry. I won't be able to see you again until Friday. Until then, I suggest you stop pissing Ben off. I can't control how he treats you, you know that."

"I know, he's always pissy," Wolf muttered as he hung his head. "Fine. I'll go with you. I'll go with you and put up with your absurd antics and the twisted shit you put me through, as long as I get food. But mark my word - one day you will go to jail for this."

"That is if you walk away from this alive." Ben's threat was clear. "Let's go before I kill you, Monotaro and Johnson, just for the heck of it. Oh-yeah. I don't care what Johnson says, if you disobey me again I'll find some way to punish Monotaro for it, got it?"

Wolf and Monotaro shot each other a desperate look as Wolf followed Ben hopelessly out the door, feeling like his only freedom - rebellion - had just been stolen out of his grasp.

* * *

Alex groaned as he awoke, leaning over the wastebasket. Matt had given him twice his normal amount of pills that morning. Alex had protested and tried to resist taking them but, as per usual, Matt threatened him with something - Alex couldn't even remember what - and Alex shoved the pills down his throat.

He hated the drugs. They made him not able to remember. He was starting to remember what Matt did to him, little bits and pieces, but not the whole thing. He knew it was bad. As he dropped away from the wastebasket and curled his arm around his stomach, he realized he couldn't even remember what Snake said had happened to him.

_What were the drugs Matt was feeding him? _There honestly weren't that many side consequences to them. Except that they made him feel like shit, vomit occasionally, and they didn't allow him to focus much. He also didn't remember much when he took them. Part of Alex felt like that was because he was trying to avoid pain and the other part felt like he just didn't want to remember.

He groaned as he forced himself up and pulled on his jeans. Today was going to be a long day. He pulled on his hoodie, shivering from the cold, before he made it over to the next wastebasket and vomited what he'd eaten.

Correction: Today was going to be a long day if he could ever get himself out of bed.

The door opened, and Alex looked up to Matt's grinning face. Smirking next to him was a stranger that Alex didn't recognize. "...Who are you?" he asked.

"Who are you, _sir_," Matt corrected. "I'm hoping you can help with this one, Steven. He's new."

"Ah." Steven grinned as he walked over towards Cub. "What's your name?"

"Alex."

"I mean your _slave_ name." Steven took the cigarette he'd held in his hands, forced his grip on Alex's hand, and stabbed him with it. Alex struggled to get away but couldn't.

"It's Cub," Matt filled in. "I really may need some tricks for breaking this one in, I want him good and submissive for the next chapter of Free Fly."

Steven grinned a wide smile. "I think I can help with that."

Alex, who had just barely managed to sit up, didn't want to know what the man was going to do. He clutched his stomach and leaned over the wastebasket again, vomiting.

This was so not his day.

Matt smiled at Steven. "We need to make sure that he gets punished for his little outburst. I was selling a slave and he tried to go _with_ the slave."

"Why the _hell_ would you do that?" Steven demanded, grabbing Alex by the shoulders and shoving him against the wall. Half of Alex was afraid he'd loose all of his breakfast again; the other half of him hoping that he really, really would so that Matt would know exactly what he was feeling. "How dare you suggest you don't want to be around my brother?"

"Sorry - sanity reasons," Alex said weakly. He wasn't going to let these guys get the better of him. He coughed again, trying not to upchuck dinner.

"Matt, care to leave me alone with him five minutes?" Steven asked, grinning. "Then you and I can go out and get dinner."

"Sounds good," Matt said. "I'll warm up the car."

With that, he was gone.

"Older brother overprotective syndrome?" Alex questioned with a raised eyebrow.

Steven's eyes widened as he threw Alex to the ground. Alex tried to protect himself only to be hit with a kick. "Why did you want to go with the other slave owner?"

"Because I hate Matt! And I hate you! I want out of here!"

"You don't have an option," Steve told him coldly. "You're how old, fourteen? You realize Matt's a legitimate social worker for the state? You realize you're his _slave_? You can never escape his grasp. Look, even Wolf can't escape him. You know his story, right? Wolf's story?"

Alex paused. He knew Wolf's legitimate story, but he didn't know the fabricated one he'd come up with. "...What is it, exactly?"

"He's currently dating Benjamin Daniels."

Alex almost vomited. What the hell?

"We had someone approach Ben and want to know why Wolf was working with him," Steve said smoothly. "We said it was because Ben was 'dating' him. It's the perfect solution."

"Except Wolf isn't gay. Is Ben even gay?" Alex asked. Really, he didn't know if either of those statements were true and didn't care - it didn't bother him who liked who as long as everyone consented... another flashback hit him and he had to stop himself from reaching for the wastebasket again.

Steven grinned. "Does it matter? It gives them the _perfect_ cover."

"Except Wolf is being kidnapped."

"Wolf is _not_ being kidnapped," Steven said. "He is being forced to serve community service as he deserves."

Snorting, Alex said, "If you believe that, you're dumber than I thought."

"Why you little son of a -" Steven said, reaching over towards Alex as he shoved him against the wall. "You listen here, you little punk. You seem overly concerned about things that aren't your business. I want you to shut up and if you so much say a word out of line, hell, any word at all, I am going to beat the _snot_ out of Monotaro and Wolf, you understand me?"

"But-"

"Say one more word, and I will drive to their house right now. We own you, Cub, flesh and soul. Remember that. Got that? Crystal clear?" the man sneered.

Alex reacted by hanging his head. Two seconds later, the door opened. "I nearly forgot about this," Matt said as he came nearer to Steven. "We have one on both Wolf and Monotaro - well, I gave the controller to Johnson now - I told you I sold Monotaro, right? - but I just realized Alex doesn't have one yet. He had one for awhile, but I took it off because he was listening more with the drugs. Drugs or not, he needs one now."

"What is that?" Alex asked as Steven took the device from Matt.

Matt grinned. "It's a tracking device like the courts use. I have them because I'm a social worker. I've adjusted Wolf's a little so Benjamin can control him easier," he said with a sick grin, "But we need to make sure we can keep track of Alex."

_Oh dear God_, Alex thought as he backed away from Steven. Matt grabbed Alex's wrists and held them behind his back as Steven lifted up his pant leg just a little bit. Alex struggled, trying to kick him, but Steven wrestled his foot down and clamped the device on. Both men instantly let go of him, almost at the same time, and stood up.

"We'll be back later," Matt said. "You better behave, Cub. You already know there's no way out of your room, so don't even bother trying. Crystal?"

They locked eyes and somehow Alex knew the threat was clear. "Crystal," he responded.

* * *

Challenges:

So now Wolf and Alex both have tracking devices. What 'adaption' did Matt put on Wolf's?

How on _earth _did Steven get the idea that Wolf is dating Ben - and why did he and Matt come up with it?

What major plot twist will take place next chapter?

There you have it, all sorts of fun, people! :D Review! Sorry if there were any typos in the replies yesterday - WWS volunteers Tuesday night and had to make sure to leave enough time to catch the bus. Thus the fast review replies. Remember, review & get a sneak peak, respond to a challenge and get a two paragraph sneak peak! Also, for every challenge you respond too after the first one, we'll add a bonus sentence! We'll also give two people a random sneak peak that includes the major plot twist (regardless of their review length. Of course, we won't give away so much it spoils the chapter... Just enough to leave you biting your nails!)_ So review!_


	15. No Time for Goodbyes

AN: Hello everyone, this is Torn Apart Paper Dinosaur, on account of Writer With Sprite's power is out. However the storm is coming to me too, so she asked me to post this. We both would like to thank all the readers, and most of all the reviewers! You make our days! :) On to the story, and it would improve Sprite's night if you all kept up those awesome reviews! Thank you so much! :D

* * *

CHAPTER SIXTEEN

"Sorry about that," Eagle said as he apologized to Monotaro. He liked Fox but hated his character. "Could you please cook dinner for me while I go and take a shower? There is food in the refrigerator. Just you and I are eating. Make what you like. As I told Cub-I am a horrible cook."

"It's fine," Monotaro mumbled. "But are you sure you want me to make what I want? What do you enjoy?" When had he been told to do something he liked? Monotaro rubbed his hand against his hair, trying to remember the answer. He couldn't.

"Anything that's cooked for me and put on a plate," Eagle reassured him, "as long as it's not cooked by Ben. Speaking of Ben, when he's here, trust me when I say I'll be in the same room. He's a good tutor but a bit of a psychopath."

Monotaro nodded, "I'll do what I can," he said referring to both the dinner and Ben. He made his way to the kitchen and searched the pantry for something simple to make while Steve headed off to take a shower.

Monotaro was about to give up, and search the fridge for a meat – those were at least easy to cook - but then his eye caught something on the top shelf. He reached up, standing on his tippy toes because he was too short, and he grabbed the box. He smiled when he saw that it was macaroni and cheese. It made him the happiest that he had been in a long time.

He walked to the counter where he started the water, and he watched it boil, having nothing else to do. When the bubbles started to break the surface he went to open the box of noodles. But the cardboard wouldn't budge. So he turned around and looked for something to cut it with, but turned up empty handed as he didn't want to use the huge butcher's knife.

So he settled with his teeth instead. Once he broke it open he tore the top off with a little too much force, and it sent the box flying. He hurried to catch it and he did, however his hand hit the side of the pot, sending waves of pain through him. He poured the noodles in and then looked at his hand. He swore wildly, grabbing a cloth and covering it. He closed his eyes, trying desperately to avoid a flashback. A few deep breaths, and he was able to do so. He closed his eyes as he ran cold water his hand. He hoped it wouldn't blister up, that way he could hide it easier.

Stirring the noodles, he briefly wondered if Alex was alright or not. He hastily shook his head, of course Alex was okay, he shouldn't jump to conclusions. Once the macaroni was done he searched for a strainer. He found one and brought the pot over with his good hand and poured it through.

"Hey, Monotaro," Eagle said, giving the kid a second's warning as he stepped through the doorway. "What's for dinner?"

"Macaroni and cheese," he commented as he put the ingredients together.

"Very nice. Even I can't put that together - hey, what happened to your hand?" Eagle asked as he watched as the kid used his left hand, not his right, to stir the ingredients together. The puffy red mark looked vaguely familiar although Eagle couldn't place the injury.

"Nothing happened," Monotaro told him as he flinched away from Steve as he stepped closer.

"Let me see."

"No, leave me alone," Monotaro told him as he felt the surge of a flashback hitting him full force.

-FLASHBACK-

_Monotaro limped through the front door of Matt's house. Matt was there to greet him, though his smirk turned into a scowl as he stared at Monotaro's foot._

"_What the hell did you do?" Matt demanded, as he stalked forward._

"_I-I don't know what you mean," Monotaro winced when Matt grabbed his arm._

"_Your ankle, what did you do? And don't you dare lie to me," Matt demanded._

_Monotaro thought for a second...should really tell the truth? After all it was Matt's fault that he had fallen. "You...you shoved me down the stairs a few days ago."_

_Matt grabbed his hair and pulled him forward. "You want to stop lying and try that again?"_

_Monotaro swallowed, "Yes sir, well I twisted my ankle being clumsy..."_

"_There, that wasn't so hard was it? Now for your punishment for lying to me..." Matt trailed off, and let go of Monotaro._

_Monotaro froze, not knowing if he was serious or not. Though he should have known better._

"_Follow me, Monotaro. I do believe the absurd lies are caused by your lack of medication. We should change that, don't you think?"_

_All Monotaro could do was nod and follow him into the kitchen._

_-END FLASHBACK-_

"Monotaro, I am not going to hurt you," Eagle said, noticing the way the kid walked back towards him. "Monotaro. I just want to treat your hand. That's all, I promise. Then we'll eat dinner, okay?"

Monotaro shook his head in disbelief, "You're not going to hurt me? Why not?"

"Of course not, why would I?" Eagle asked.

Monotaro opened his mouth, then silently closed it. He shook his head again. "No reason." He thought about Alex, and he would gladly switch places with him if that meant he was safe. Monotaro knew how to deal with Matt, at least a little bit, whereas Alex would retort without thinking first. He wouldn't last long. He wished he could just go and see Alex to make sure he was alright. Steve brought him out of his thoughts.

"Let's get your hand wrapped then we can eat," Eagle reminded him.

"Whatever you want sir," Monotaro told him, then followed him out of the kitchen.

* * *

Wolf groaned as Ben parked at another house. He really hated this. He was so tired, so angry, so mad at Ben. It was all he could do to keep from losing his temper right then and there. "Why?" he demanded. "I'm hungry. I want to go to sleep. Please..." he said, hating himself for using the word. But he hoped it would pacify Ben.

"Would you just shut up for five minutes? I have to stop here for a second then we can go home. You can grab something then go to bed. But that's only if you behave yourself while we are here," Ben responded.

Wolf swallowed, hating Ben's psychotic character, but he knew why it was necessary. It was his job to get stories from the slaves' side of things, Snake's job to see how many people were in other areas who were bad, Eagle's job to see what a slave owner was like... he sighed. "I'll be good," he responded.

"You'd better be, otherwise it's on Monotaro," he threatened.

Wolf swallowed hard. He doubted Eagle would let Ben punish Monotaro but couldn't take the risk. Even if Eagle wouldn't let Ben punish Monotaro, he knew that Matt would let Ben punish Cub as a result of Wolf's mistake without question. "Yes, Sir." Besides, he did want dinner tonight.

"Glad we have an understanding," Ben told him as he knocked on the door.

"Hey, Ben! Good to see you!" Matt greeted. "Oh, and you brought Wolf too - how good to see you... not. You wanna hang with Cub for a while? If he can talk. He's still feeling under the weather."

"Yes sir," Wolf replied quickly, as if the offer would end.

Ben smacked him upside his head. "Don't do anything stupid, now go on."

Wolf nodded and moved towards Cub's bedroom, hoping that he wasn't as under the weather as Matt had suggested. He opened the door and sighed. Cub was sleeping. That was what he wanted to do so badly right now. The military training at SAS seemed almost like a blessing... at least he was used to going without sleep if necessary. "Cub," he whispered as he felt Cub's forehead. Much to his relief it wasn't too badly burning.

Alex grumbled and hit his hand away. "Leave me to die," he exaggerated.

"You want this to be your first failed mission?" Wolf hissed, knowing what the issue was. Cub had probability handled Point Blank and his first mission well because he'd treated them like that - a mission. "What the hell did Matt _do_ to you?"

"Well, according to Snake, he _thinks _Matt sexually assaulted me. Can you believe that shit..." Alex got quiet after that. He kept remembering things off and on. He wondered how soon it would be until he could forget this again.

"Shit, Cub. You don't fuck around with your enemies, do you?" Wolf asked. He felt sick to his stomach. He could have prevented this. He knew Monotaro's story. He fully believed what Monotaro had told him about Matt. And he had _knowingly_ let Cub remain there.

Then again, what power did he have? He had no access to phones. Fox wouldn't report the abuse, he knew. It would go against his damn character. "God, I'm sorry, Cub. That's... all kinds of crap. So... why do you want to die? Other than that," he added. "Because news flash Cub, you are one of my team members and nobody on my team dies, you understand me?"

"Then I would be the first. And as far as my knowledge goes, you hated me, called me 'Double-Oh-Nothing' and therefore I was never apart of your team."

"Look, Cub," Wolf retorted. "Yeah, we were all assholes to you, I get that. That made you more apart of our team, not less. Okay, we used the wrong nickname - I get that now. But everyone on my team has a nickname. I guess we didn't reveal it to you at the time, but Eagle's is actually 'hyperactive sugar fairy,' or 'suicidal when has chocolate.' Doesn't make double-o-nothing seem so bad now, does it?"

"Mhhh, you're right, you were assholes, I feel like a double o nothing. But I will take Cub for now," Alex told him. "And you are spot on Eagle's nickname. You think he would be pissed if I called him that?"

"I wouldn't risk it. But you're not a double-o-nothing, Cub. I promise you that much. You want to sit up so we can have a civil conversation? What happened to the Cub who told me to fuck off when I said he was broken?" Wolf asked, wondering why Alex was still so submissive. That scared him more than he wanted to admit.

"He's hidden by a cloud of drugs right now. But I will fill in for him and tell you to 'fuck off' and let me sleep."

"Hey, that's no fair. I haven't been able to sleep or eat for forty-eight hours now," Wolf responded. "Hey, I figured out a way we can use the K's code names. Wanna hear it?"

"Well, I'm not stopping you from sleeping now. In fact I'd prefer it 'cause then I wouldn't have to listen to you talk," Alex reached over and pulled out something from his nightstand. He threw it at Wolf, who caught it. "Eat that."

"Thanks," Wolf said, feeling grateful. He took a bite, feeling relieved as the food entered into his body. He quickly bit into it again, not wanting Fox to punish him for having with it. He was no nutritionist but he knew his body would not be able to sustain itself for two days with just an apple. "Matt feeding you then?"

Alex scowled, "Yeah, after I take the drugs."

"Sounds like Ben... anyway, the slave owners have names for us. I think we should have names for them. That way if we slip up our asses are covered. What think? I think Matt's should be 'asshole,' but since my mother would wash my mouth out with soap if I said that, I was thinking more like 'Mutt.'" Wolf finished the apple and threw the core in the trash.

Alex sat up, and shook his head. "You take that with you when you leave. If Matt finds that in here he would _murder me_."

"What?" Wolf asked, scratching his head.

"If he discovers I stole food, I would get a beating. Just throw it outside or something," Alex told him.

"Will do." Wolf, feeling immensely better now that he had food, grabbed the apple core, opened the window, checked below him to make sure nobody was standing there (even though he would have loved to throw it at Matt), and tossed it down. "I think I will take you up on the sleep, Cub." With that, he leaned against Cub's bed, buried his head in his lap, and slept.

* * *

THREE DAYS AFTER PREVIOUS SECTION  
FRIDAY - RIGHT BEFORE TIME FOR CUB, WOLF, MONOTARO TUTORING

"Okay, everyone, listen up!" Matt called. Ben and the doctor were chatting about natural remedies and the risks of them. Steve and someone else, who Matt didn't know quite as well, were talking about... he didn't even know. Matt liked Ben's psychotic character, but found that he also liked Johnson's easygoing nature.

"Okay, people. We got a huge contract coming in for a new type of drug Ben has assisted me with working on. Ben, you wanna give everyone the spheel?" With that, Matt sat down and Ben stood up.

"For the past few weeks, as Matt said, we have been working on this new drug. It is very easy to make, and not to mention very addicting. We have been able to manipulate a chemical to make it as such. The best part of it all is that Free Fly will not show up in any drug tests, as well as any formal drug regulations. Free Fly will be off onto the market as fast as it got on. It will be so positively addicting, and so expensive, people won't be able to ignore their addiction. Which brings me to my next point, we only have so many companies selling it, so there is a limit. And once they run out, it's gone. Just think of everyone that could get their hands on it, they would be crazy mad. We're not going to go that route, though. We're going to slip it in kid's lunches. It will be addictive, make them more cooperative, make them more able to be brainwashed... You get the idea. We'll have to deprive them sometimes..." he let his voice trail off.

Eagle spoke up then. "Thanks for the information, Ben. First, now I know why you've been so psychotic, you've gotten ahold of Free Fly. I'm kidding, of course. I realize we have the manpower to make the stuff, but why deprive people of it?"

"Har-har-har, I may be psychotic... but you can't get a doctor to test the theory. But as to the depriving part, we need people to become more addicted to it, though I don't see a problem with moving it up to six months...Good thinking... even if you are suicidal when you have chocolate," Ben commented.

Eagle smirked at the hidden reference.

Someone else spoke up. "How are we going to introduce this drug, and what is our target audience?"

"Teenagers of course," Ben replied. "Aren't teenagers _always_ our audience?" And, of course, teenagers were the main reason they'd taken the undercover assignment, although Ben would not say that out loud. They'd never expected Cub to be one of the teens forced to take, make, and sell drugs here.

"Just look at how Monotaro and Cub have been acting about different types of drugs," Matt said. "It would be perfect for us, we would get profit, and more slaves."

Snake spoke up. "I'm all for force-feeding kids drugs, even though I'm not sure Cub's body likes it. Still, that's besides the point. How will we get more slaves out of this deal? It isn't as if we can randomly kidnap all the slaves."

Useful information to know so that they could stop the plan, Eagle thought.

"Well if you must know, I think Cub's body is reacting that way from the lack of drugs," Ben said as he glared at Eagle. It was Eagle's job to fight with him. It was likely that Eagle would be the first to reveal himself as SAS. Fighting with Ben the whole time would make Ben look more guilty and Eagle look less guilty, a prized connection. Besides, it gave them something interesting to do. "Are you giving him enough, Matt? And we won't have to kidnap them, they will come on their own free will. If they know drugs are involved, they will come running."

"Not enough in my opinion," Matt remarked. "However I don't him to have give him brain damage. Look how Monotaro came out; drugs were the result. But it was past drug experience that provoked it, I had nothing to do with it. But remember, Monotaro isn't mine. I sold the brat to Johnson."

"He makes good macaroni and cheese," Eagle commented randomly. "So... are we all pooling our manpower on this or what? I really can't afford to loose Monotaro; he's the only slave I have and I can't really afford to buy another right now."

"I'd say make the bastard sell the drugs, but I don't think you'd let me," Ben told Eagle.

"It's not a matter of 'letting' you or not - I need the kid as a personal assistant. If I had two or three slaves I'd gladly let him help out more. I'm all for the cause. But with my work, it's pretty hard to help out here as much as I want. Will Wolf and Cub be helping with this? What about other slaves?"

"We could definitely fit Wolf or Cub into the equation..." Snake responded. "It wouldn't be all that hard, that is if you two," he referred to Matt and Ben, "would be willing to give them up during the times that we need them. And I think Jeff may have a few of his own."

Jeff spoke up to that. "Currently, we have six foster kids at my house who could all work. Additionally, Matt has two kids he's trying to place if anyone's interested. Besides you, Ben. Sorry, but you have a criminal record."

"My hours at work are pretty light right now," Snake responded, "I can take them."

"It wasn't my fault the guy ran into my knife. He had it coming anyway," Ben muttered, seemingly upset by the suggestion he couldn't care for the kids.

"_Ten_ times Ben? He ran into your knife _ten_ times?" Eagle questioned.

"So, anyway," Matt responded, "I think we can count on Ben for dealing with our problems... if Johnson and Ben can agree to stop fighting." All eyes turned towards the two.

"I'll stop fighting Ben if he stops trying to fuck my slave." Eagle glared at Ben.

"I didn't know you had a personal preference for Monotaro?" Matt questioned. "I would have sold him to you if I'd known."

"Why? Are you jealous of me having Monotaro? I'd love to have have him, but you seem too protective of him... Are you sure you aren't having inter relationships with him?" Ben asked with a smirk.

It was then when Monotaro had slipped out to get a glass of water. He was dehydrated and thirsty, and hadn't been ordered to stay in the room. He dropped the glass, and it bounced to the floor, water spilling everywhere. "I didn't do anything wrong, I promise!" he said everyone glanced at him.

Eagle stretched and groaned. "If you don't need me for anything else, I think I'd better go," he said. "It's getting close to eight and Monotaro has tutoring tomorrow - for which I will be providing supervision," he added, glaring at Ben. "Monotaro is my slave. Not yours. Have relations with Wolf, if you're desperate."

Wolf also happened to be coming around the corner. He managed to maintain a firm grip on his glass of water, putting it on the counter. "Hold up. Nobody is having relations with me. I am not a bed buddy of any sort... gah!" he growled, feeling the shock from where Ben had triggered his anklet. It sent a shock that froze his entire body.

"I'm glad I don't have one of those," Alex mumbled as he helped Wolf up. He looked a little better than he had been looking lately.

"Who invited the slaves to speak and get minds?" Matt asked. "I think it's clear Monotaro is the best trained here. He knows when to shut up. Clearly Johnson is doing a nice job with him. Ben, don't you want to have a word with your slave? Maybe use him as a bed buddy, to prove that you can do whatever you want to him?"

"The fuck Johnson's doing a nice job with him," Ben yelled. He lowered his voice. "Monotaro still has a little lip to him too. Perhaps you need to take him back Matt, and train him to know his place. Come on Wolf, we're leaving, now. We still have enough time to be bed buddies tonight."

Wolf went pale. Monotaro blanched. "I know my place," he whispered hoarsely, falling down into the floor in the water.

Eagle launched at Ben. "You leave my slave the fuck alone. He knows not to mess with me. You're just jealous because you can't have underage flesh. I don't want to see you at our house tomorrow. I'll tutor Monotaro myself."

"Yes, you tutor him. Though I wouldn't say he retains anything. When he can count to one-hundred, then I'll believe it!" Ben told him.

"Will you two shut the hell up and get out of my house?" Matt questioned. "Johnson, if you want to bring Monotaro for tutoring tomorrow, that's fine, if not that's fine too. I expect to see you both at the meeting tomorrow. Although Ben, Johnson has a point. Using you slave as a bed buddy is a sure way to get them to behave. If you feel too uncomfortable dealing with but want his behavior dealt with, I will do it for you."

"I'm not a fuck toy!" Wolf said, raising his voice above the rest.

"Come on, Monotaro, we are leaving before the cops get here," Eagle said as he nodded towards Matt. "I don't think he'd be happy if I killed off one of his best drug dealers." Monotaro brushed the water off of his shirt and followed Eagle out the door.

"Thanks for the gesture, but I have it handled." Ben shot a threatening look at Wolf.

Wolf avoided it, but heard the message loud and clear. He would lay off on pissing Ben off for a while, or he would have hell to pay.

He knew that while Fox would not actually turn him over to Matt, Matt may decide to take things into his own hands, without Fox's consent, and that thought scared Wolf more than he wanted to admit.

* * *

Wolf growled as he dropped his pencil on the table, waiting as Ben made his way through the room. Alex stumbled a little bit as he was shoved against the table. "Some great man you are, roughing up kids half your size," Wolf said to Ben.

"He's not a kid, he's a slave. And so are you, so I would watch that mouth of yours," Ben retorted.

"I'm not a slave. I'm a _human _being. Perhaps you've forgotten what those are in your haste to own slaves -"

"Do I have to give Cub more drugs because of your lack of respect? Because trust me when I say that it will be tough for him to concentrate, and as of now he really needs this fucking education. Don't ask me why, I just take orders from Matt, who also told me to feel free to punish Cub if he got out of line."

Wolf sucked in a breath and dropped to his seat. "Fine." _Don't swear, don't swear, don't swear._

Alex flinched, now knowing that Wolf was now connected to his punishment. He really hoped that he didn't step out of line again, or lose his temper...

"Good," Ben told Wolf.

"W-what are we learning today?" Alex stuttered, unsure why he couldn't think clearly. He had a feeling that Matt had drugged him with _that_drug again - the one that forced him to obey.

"Today we're learning about the rules that slaves _need _to follow," Ben informed him.

Wolf would have bit back with _we don't need to follow anything _if he didn't know that Cub would take his punishment. "Excuse me, Sir, I have a question."

Ben sighed and glared at his slave, "What?" he snapped.

"So there are rules we "_need" _to follow. As opposed to what - rules we want to follow? Rules that are mere suggestions? Rules that don't exist? Why can't it just be rules? And why do we have to obey rules at all? I am really not good at obeying orders, sir. Maybe the class should be on that."

"You have to obey rules because I fucking tell you too. Though I won't go into too much detail, that is what tomorrow's class is about."

"But what if I don't want to obey the rules because you tell me too? I'm having a hard time reeling in my motivation. It's not because I want you to hurt Cub. I just can't control myself sometimes. I don't know what to do. My body just won't listen to me! Or to you, or to anyone!"

Before Alex could react Ben threw himself at Wolf, and basically brought the chair down with them. He leaped up, to avoid getting involved. He didn't even know who was throwing punches, it was all a blur. Alex stared at them, and when he saw the blood...and Ben just kept punching Wolf...and screaming absurd things at him, Alex knew that he had to do something.

Since Matt had left a while ago, telling them not to break anything while he was gone... Well they had obviously disobeyed that. Alex didn't know when he had moved, but he found himself in the living room, with the phone in his hand. He thought about it, and knew that it was worth the trouble to come, he dialed 9-9-9.

As it rang, he could still hear Ben beating the life out of Wolf. And he took a deep breath as the server picked up. "Hello, this is 999 Emergency Services. How can I help you?"

"Th-there is a case of domestic violence...between two m-men...it's real-lly bad..." he broke off, unsure what to say.

"Thank you for calling us, Sir. Can you give us an address and some detail about what is happening?"

Alex quickly rambled off an address, praying it was right, and then said, "There were a-a few...choice words, and then...oh...there's a-alot of blood..."

"Okay, Sir, you're doing fine. Now I just need you to calm down, and take a few deep breaths and stay on the line with until the police get there. Can you do that for me?"

"Y-yes," Alex stuttered.

"Cub, what the _heck _are you doing?" Eagle cried as he took the phone and slammed it down. "What the hell is happening to Wolf? Montaro, get in the car. We're getting out of here."

"I-I-I- you should go. I - I - called..."

"What about you, will you be okay?"

"I-I-I..."

Eagle swore as he glanced at the clock; two minutes had passed since Cub's call. "Look, Wolf knows how to get in touch with me. You can call me if the situation gets desperate. I can't be here when the cops show up."

With that, Eagle was gone as fast as he had came, screeching out of the driveway, Monotaro tucked safely in the passenger seat.

Alex sunk to the floor, fully aware of what he had done.

* * *

Challenge: What will happen to Alex as a result of calling the cops?

Where are Eagle and Monotaro going?

Why is there such a conflict between Ben and Eagle?


	16. Rescued?

_**Warning: this chapter mentions gay male domestic violence. I don't think that it will trigger anyone, but I do want to include this warning up here so that you are warned. **_

_**Disclaimer: See chapter one. But I'm updating it because I recently had a conversation with Dinosaur, who told me she STILL doesn't own Alex Rider. I didn't get the rights as a birthday present, so I guess we'll have to leave the disclaimer up for now. We do own the original characters... Please ask us before borrowing them.**_

* * *

__"Please stop hurting me," Wolf whispered as he was on the floor. He hated sounding weak but didn't know what else to do. Fox had charged at him and had hit him repeatedly, over and over again. He was trying desperately to fight back, but Fox was strong, and was pinning both of his arms down, and he had cover weight.

Ben kicked Wolf in the stomach, and as he was coughing to catch his breath, Ben picked him up by his shirt. He glared at him, "Just remember, you brought this on yourself." He gave him another powerful punch, and Wolf fell to the floor.

The door broke open then, the fighting having been heard from outside. "Police! Get off of him now! And get on the ground!"

"He's my property, I can do whatever the hell I want with him," Ben sneered.

"Property or not, we've had complaints from the neighbors about the noise. Plus we got a call about domestic violence. Now get off him and get your hands on the ground."

Ben turned and glared at Alex, who was gaping open mouthed at the noise. "You bitch!"

"Get on the fucking ground!" the second police officer yelled, not willing to wait anymore. He grabbed the man by the shoulders and tackled him. "Frank, call for back-up," he ordered.

"I don't think that's a good idea...what's your name?" Frank asked Ben, who was getting handcuffed. He had already dialed for back-up when he had heard the screaming outside, and soon two female officers arrived.

Joseph, the second police officer, motioned towards the kid. One of the females nodded and went over to him, ignoring his cringing face. "Let's go talk away from him, alright? Where can we talk?"

Wolf only nodded at her as she left, not tearing his eyes away from Ben.

"Don't you fucking speak. Do you hear me! Not one word!" Ben yelled at him. Wolf swallowed hard as his eyes flickered to the ground, exhausted. He felt like shit.

Joe knew he had to get the man away as soon as possible. "Come on. Let's come over here," he said, gesturing towards the living room. He closed the door as Wolf sat on the couch. "What's your name, Son?"

"I don't have a name," Wolf told him.

Joseph raised an eyebrow, feeling completely out of his element. Maybe he should have interviewed the psychopath. "Everyone has a name," he said, "What does - your partner call you?"

Wolf groaned, realizing exactly what the police officer thought. "Let's get one thing straight. He is not my partner. And I am no one's fuck toy. I am not in a relationship!"

"So your... partnership with the man was non-consensual?"

Kill Ben, not this officer...He cleared his throat, "No," he told Joe straight forward.

"Is he holding you prisoner here?"

"I guess you could look at it that way... yes. Yes, he is."

"You said that you weren't in a relationship, but we got a call -"

"I'm not," Wolf snapped at him.

Joseph sighed, trying to figure out his best line of questioning. He truly believed this man was in an abusive relationship; the signs were all there, the denial... "Okay, well, then, why are you still here with him?"

"You suppose that I _chose_ to be with him in the first place?"

"I know he told you not to talk when my partner was leading him out. Can you tell me what that was about?" Joseph asked, changing his line of questioning.

Wolf raised his eyebrow, "Is that a threat that implies my sexual preferences?"

"I'm not trying to threaten anything. I'm trying to help you out of this situation. Domestic violence is a serious problem-"

"I. Am. Not. In. An. Abusive. Relationship!" Wolf grounded out. _It's hard to be in an abusive relationship when you aren't in any relationship at all! _

"So you wantto be hit until you bleed, then? It sounds to me like you're in denial. I was there once, you know; I'm only trying to help -"

"Oh...my," Wolf took a deep breath before he exploded. "Look here - whatever your name is - I am in no relationship with that man. I certainly don't like being kicked around like a punching bag. But I suppose you do? Telling me your absurd lies-"

"I'd like to offer you a way out, if you'd let me," the man responded. "But I need you to answer some questions for me. If you don't want to be in a relationship... why are you here? What power does he have over you?"

"For the fourth, and last time, I am not in a relationship. I wouldn't be here if I didn't need to be.-"

"So are you insinuating that you enjoy being kicked? Because that is what it sounds like to me. No matter what he holds over you, we can get you help."

"Well," Wolf drew out. "I think it's hard to help someone when there is no problem...and if you keep insisting that there is one - by means of any relationship - I will kill you. Understand?"

The officer sighed. "Look, obviously there's something going on. Do me a favor - don't call me perverted, because that's not about what this is, but take off your shirt."

Wolf still grumbled under his breath about the 'perverted cop' as he took his shirt off. He was surprised when he saw his stomach...it looked disgusting. He turned his head away.

"Now do you truly believe there is still no problem? Relationship or not, something is going on. I need to know what it is. Look, all I want to do is help. I'm not saying you're weak or disgusting or filthy. I just want to help you recover your life."

"That'll be the day...when my life actually goes back to being normal. And this is no problem, it happens all the time."

"Look, you won't admit there's a problem. I think there is a problem. How about we draw a line? Your partner will be arrested for the night, and I don't think you should be here when he gets back. There's a shelter for domestic violence victims that isn't too far from here. How about I drop you off there and you can stay the night and talk to some people for me?"

"Getting away from him for a night does sound good..."

"There's food at the shelter, too, and other assistance. And I can check in with you tomorrow morning and finish questioning you then."

"It sounds like a plan. But what happened to Cub?" Wolf asked looking around.

"Who is Cub?"

"The kid who made the call? At least I think he did...he was sitting over there," Wolf pointed to the corner.

"Tell you what, I'll make you a deal. You go to the shelter, you stay there the entire night, and I'll greet you in the morning and make sure that I find out what happens to 'Cub', okay?" the police officer asked. He had to get this man away from his abuser to get him to open up and sensed that he needed some leverage.

"Okay, just keep an eye on him, and don't let Ben get near him," Wolf pleaded, knowing Ben, and probably Matt, would be pissed at Alex for calling the cops...though he didn't blame the kid. That beating hurt like hell. And he could only imagine what it must have looked like.

"I'll do my best," the police officer promised. "Come on now, let's go."

* * *

Alex sat on the corner of one chair as he bit at his fingernail nervously. They had said they had found a 'suitable guardian for him' who would 'be back at any time.' He jumped when the door swung open.

"Hmm, glad I've finally found you Cub," Matt commented as he strolled into the room. "You've caused quite a scene."

"I-I'm sorry," he said, lowering his eyes. His only hope was to act as submissive as possible and hope that Matt would let him off as lightly as possible. He doubted that would happen. His only saving grace, he knew, was that he had been put in child protective custody until Matt could be found, something that left Alex no doubt that there were people on Matt's side.

"You'd bet your ass you're sorry. Do you know how many problems you caused by calling the cops?" Matt spat.

Steven placed his hand on Matt's shoulder. "Matt, allow me." With that, he grabbed Alex by the arm and dragged him down to the men's bathroom.

"Do you know what you did wrong?"

"I called the cops." Alex kept his voice emotionless. "But Ben wouldn't stop beating James-"

"I don't know a James," Steven said pointedly as he crossed his arms.

Alex growled. "Ben wouldn't stop beating Wolf, so I had to do something."

Steven snorted. "Did it ever occur to you that it was Ben's right as an owner to beat Wolf however he pleased?"

"No?"

Steven slapped Alex hard, backhanding the kid so that he slid down the bathroom sink. "You might want to rethink that answer."

"But Ben isn't Wolf's owner," Alex deadpanned, tired of taking the abuse. The drugs had finally worn out of his system, temporarily, and he was taking this chance to be disobedient. He didn't care if he got beaten for it later, it would be worth it. "I thought you said they were dating?"

Steven growled and shoved the teen down on the floor, kicking him in his ribs. Alex tried to cover himself but found that his arms barely protected himself from Steven's merciless blows. Finally, after what seemed like an eternity, Steven stopped.

"I don't want to make you look terribly bruised, we are in a child's service office after all," Steven finally said as he helped the teen up. Alex tugged against him, but Steven's grip was firm. "You better not say anything well we are here, or you will regret it. I am leaving for a few days to take care of business, and I expect you to be in good shape when I come back." With that, Steven ran his hand through Alex's hair. Alex yanked his head away angrily and gasped in pain when he realized just how sore his ribs were.

"You had better be good." With that, the two left the bathroom, Steven smiling as he walked through the halls. Other than Alex's rumpled shirt, nobody would have guessed what happened between the two. Steven opened the door to the small child's service office they were in before and closed it quickly.

"All taken care of," Steven said with a grin. Matt nodded his thanks before shooting a glare at Alex. Alex sank down on the chair and hugged his stomach tighter to his chest. He felt like shit.

Suddenly, another woman walked into the room. "I got the information you requested, Sir. Niles has been transferred into Johnson's custody full-time. Actually, as of this morning, Johnson legally adopted him."

Matt grumbled as he grabbed the file from her, and scanned it. "Hmmm, Niles actually talked to him, to some degree...perhaps I should have taken him back when I had the chance," he gave her the file. "You can leave now."

"And miss out on the five grand?" the female said sweetly. "You told me it was what you wanted, Daddy."

"You know better than to break cover here, Siesta," he addressed his daughter.

"You SOLD Monotaro?" Alex asked, leaping out of his seat. Matt had really been serious that day with Johnson. "Fuck you, you scumbag piece of shi-"

"Who the hell do you think you're talking to?" Siesta questioned.

"You're on thin ice right now Cub, I would change that attitude. And yes I sold Monotaro, but now I am starting to regret my decision...he is a lot more obedient than you are," Matt told him. "Trust me, when we get home, you WILL be punished for this incident and that incident… maybe I should let Ben take you so I don't kill you."

"No, please, I'll be good," Alex said, wincing at the thought of going with Ben. At least with Matt, he had some idea of what to expect. Or did he? He had a nagging feeling his memory was gone again.

Steven sighed and shook his head at Alex. "Do you need my help?" he asked. "I'm due back in at area A soon and wanted to make sure I was okay to leave."

"You're fine, glad you could be here for the big announcement of Free Fly," Matt responded. "We'll take care of Cub."

"Sounds good to me," Steven said even as he walked out the same way he came.

Matt turned his attention back to Alex. "Now, for you, little one," he said, grabbing the teenager's arm, "We're going to have a talking-too."

"I hate you and your games!" Alex yelled. Much to Matt's surprise, he turned, opened the door, and ran out into the hallway.

He had to get out of there.

He sprinted down the hallway, and turned a corner. He saw an elevator and glanced behind him, no one was following him yet. He managed to slip into the elevator. He sighed in relief as the doors closed, and the elevator started to move again.

"You're a bit young to be in here alone," a voice spoke up. "I'm Joe. Were you the one who placed that domestic violence call last night?"

Alex glanced over his shoulder, and looked at Joe. He was wearing a police uniform, and he recognized him from last night. "Yes, I made that call. But I'm not here alone."

Joe raised his eyebrow. "You have someone who is mighty worried about you. Is your nickname Cub?'"

Alex froze, knowing only a select few knew that name to be his own. "Yes, and who is this 'someone'?"

"Let's just say someone who has provided me with a lot of interesting feedback about how you're being treated. Does someone named Matt have your custody?"

"His name is not 'Matt' anymore. I took the liberty of changing that to 'Scumbag piece of shit'."

"So you know of him. Well, I'd like to take you to someone who wants to visit you. Think he'd let you do that?"

Alex raised an eyebrow...who would want to see me?, he thought. "No, he wouldn't like anyone visiting me for quite a while...in fact I shouldn't even be here in this elevator with you."

The police officer smiled. He had taken the liberty of getting information from Ben about Cub. "Well, that is just too bad for him. As of last night you are now in 'Wolf's', as he likes to be called, temporary custody. I'm going to help the two of you get as far away from Ben as I can."

Alex looked him up and down. The offer seemed too good to be true. "What do you get out of it?"

"I was in 'Wolf's' situation once before. Somebody helped me. They told me to pay it forward. That is what I get out of it. Come on, let's get over to the place before anyone notices where you went."

* * *

Ben growled as he hung up his cell phone. He shot a deadly look at Snake. The two were at a restaurant far away from Matt's area. If anyone else had come from the ring, it would look as if they were simply conducting business, not talking about a deadly mission. "That was our friends at Channel Six," he said, using their pet name for MI6.

"Did you tell them about the problems we're having with Child A?" Snake asked as he leaned back against the booth. Yes, they had known that minors would be involved when they took the case. They suspected this organization of financing major parts of the war in Afghanistan, a huge reason why they were sent here. It was also suspected that some of the local social workers were finding kids who didn't have family or contacts to Afghanistan to work in various horrible conditions.

Snake shook his head. This was so messed up. They'd never suspected to find Cub here. Despite all the grief they'd given the kid at Hell, they really had cared about the kid - perhaps why they'd given him quite so much grief. Never had they thought that he could have been there because of a foster care placement. Something didn't feel right about Alex's story to Snake, but he had to let that go for right now. He could hardly interrogate Alex without the risk of blowing his cover.

"The mistress of six said that she put him in the home with a social worker who had a glowing review, and that if we felt his home was 'so damn bad,' then when we were done with the case, we could get him out. Until then, the case is a priority. I don't think she quite gets that he's smack in the middle of the case."

"Lovely woman."

"It's really too bad she signs my paychecks," Ben muttered as he yawned. "I'm glad that you guys are my back-up, although I hate having to fight with Eagle all the time."

Snake rolled his eyes. "Why _do_ you guys fight all the time anyway?"

"You read our stories, right? I abuse children. Johnson was abused as a child. That's why he's so light on the punishments, and because I'm so psychotic, I don't like to be light on the punishments. That's why we fight." Ben grinned. Then he sighed and lowered his voice. "That, and because he's the most likely to break the covers later when one of us has to reveal themselves to get out of a bad position - because minors are involved and all. It will make me look more loyal if he's caught."

Snake shook his head. "Let's just hope he's not caught."

"Agreed. I don't think he will be caught - I'm thinking that he'll have to reveal his cover for whatever reason. You know why he disappeared, right?"

"No?"

"He's trying to adopt Monotaro," Ben said. "We know we can get Cub out after the ring closes; we've got Jones' permission to do so. Hell, if we can get him out before, that would be better. Matt was looking to sell Monotaro, so we had Johnson buy him. Looks more legit as a slave owner, so that's another plus. Plus he can adopt him. If Cub ever gets trained enough to sell, we can buy him, but for the meantime, Matt's got his claws on him. However, after this case is over..." he groaned as the phone rang.

"Yeah, Matt. No, I'm fine. Yeah, your friend helped me out of jail. What? Wait, Cub's not with you? Where is he?" Ben groaned. "Fuck, he ran away and he walked out of the building with a cop? What is he, an idiot?" Ben groaned. There were hundreds of bad cops that Matt owned. "Wait, it _wasn't _a cop you'd bribed? Shit, that's not good... What about Wolf? I've been trying to lay low today, but tomorrow I'm going all for it on the search..." he let his voice trail off. "Well, hopefully the cop Wolf left with last night knows where he is today. Okay. I'm with the doctor right now, we're brainstorming some ideas. We'll come back. Yeah. yeah. Okay. Bye." Ben hung up the phone.

"Good news or bad news?"

"Depends on how you want to look at it. Cub walked off with a cop that Matt doesn't own, and Wolf is MIA. I hope that the cops they both walked off with are good, or this is gonna be a shitload of problems." Ben stretched. "We've been summoned back, let's go."

* * *

_You're getting this early as a birthday present from Writer With Sprite, who is having her 22nd birthday today. You're also getting it because the American 4th of July holiday is tomorrow and it made it a hundred times easier to update today. WWS says thanks to Dinosaur with whom this book has become awesome. I think why this book is so "spot on" with the characteristics is because we worked together, often taking one character each, and thought about what would really happen and responded accordingly. We're so glad you love it! _

Challenges:

Is the cop that Wolf and Cub walked off with good? What will happen to Wolf and Cub now? Will they be able to get away from Ben and Matt temporarily? Where is Wolf now?

How will the "domestic violence angle" play into the case? Will Ben be charged with domestic violence?

The sneak peak rule is still going - so remember to get those priceless reviews in! The bonus sneak peak, a sentence added for each challenge answer, still applies. However, even leaving a 'good job' still entitles you to a sneak peak, so make sure to review if you'd like to see a little around the corner!


	17. Twisted Changes

NEXT CHAPTER: NINETEEN, PART ONE

A/N: For the Americans among us, 'flat' basically means apartment.

Samayoutamashi is the first one to come up with the princess comments and I rightfully say they're hers first :-) - Writer With Sprite/Torn Apart Paper Dinosaur say thanks to help.

Also, chapter nineteen was really long, and for the sake of balancing out two chapters, we've split it up into part one and two. Think of long as in 7,000 words long... Yeah.

_And don't forget to vote on the poll_ on our profile page about who you'd like to be the evilest character!

Also, due to Writer With Sprite's computer dying, we will now be posting on Wednesdays (sneak peak Tuesdays) and Saturdays (sneak peak Fridays). Hope to see your reviews!

* * *

Eagle groaned as he awoke. He hadn't slept well; he was worried about Cub and Wolf. He had heard that Cub had been removed from Matt's care (Ben told him that, and _damn _was Ben ever pissed!) Ben had no idea where Wolf was and he wanted to know where he was - _now! _At least, that was what one would have believed had they seen him at Eagle's house.

It had taken a lot of convincing for Eagle to tell Ben that he didn't know. Eagle hadn't the slightest clue. Ben had started to go after Monotaro to "question" him, but Eagle put his foot down. Eagle sighed as he finished making breakfast and was grateful when he actually managed to avoid burning anything.

Fate did smile kindly on them at times.

"Monotaro! Time for breakfast!" he called, setting their plates down on the table. He could make _some_things without screwing them up.

Monotaro scurried in, and took his seat at the table. He was still dressed in his pajamas; he didn't know why but he wasn't getting much sleep. And it was starting to affect him. "Thank you, Sir," he mumbled as he ate the toast.

"Come on, Monotaro. You know what to call me," Eagle told him. He sighed as he sat down and took a bite of his own sandwich. "We're going to go somewhere today, and it's important that you call me by my real name - not sir. I'm filing a restraining order against Matt." After Ben's psychotic episode yesterday, he had talked to Ben about what to do next in the mission. Ben said he was glad that he didn't know where Wolf and Cub were and that he didn't _want _to know - Matt wanted revenge. He'd gone to Ben first to see if he knew where they were, and when they didn't... Eagle winced, glad he and Monotaro hadn't been there for that conversation.

The drug operation was being put on hold until he got it, too. Eagle shuddered.

"S-sorry...Steve," Monotaro stuttered. "T-he, re-restraining order...it-it won't work."

"Monotaro, you let me worry about the restraining order, okay?" Eagle said in what he hoped was a comforting tone. "There's more to this then whether it 'works' or not."

Monotaro shook his head. "I'm telling you...that it won't-won't work. He will f-find Cub an-d Wolf...an-..a-." he had to stop himself because he couldn't continue.

"Monotaro, breathe," Eagle said. He sighed as he took another bite of his sandwich. "Look, I know. Matt could retaliate, I know. That's why we're moving." The drug ring was starting to break up. Ben would be finishing the major parts of the mission on his own and MI6 would wrap everything else up. At least, that's what they'd have to do from his standpoint. When he'd spent some time talking to Ben - away from the bugs - they'd plotted their next moves. Ben didn't know he would run, but from what Eagle told him, he could guess.

At least he wouldn't guess where Eagle was going.

"But-what happens if Cub, or Wolf come here! We won't be here," Monotaro told him as he started to hyperventilate.

"Monotaro. Deep breath. I promise you, that will work out," Eagle said. "I just need you to trust me, okay?"

Monotaro sighed and breathed a few times before trying to speak again. "I..I trust you. But how can you be so sure? What if Matt finds them first?"

"I'm not saying that couldn't happen, Monotaro. But I have connections in higher places - higher than Matt. And if Matt tries to kidnap you, I have legal custody of you." Eagle had adopted Monotaro under both Eagle's own name and Eagle's undercover name. "Permanently - I adopted you."

Monotaro raised an eyebrow in confusion, "But why would you do that? And why would Matt try to kidnap me? He wants Cub, right?"

Eagle sighed and watched as Monotaro ate the last bite of his sandwich. "Yes, he does want Cub and probably Wolf too. But that could mean that he uses you as retaliation. I adopted you so that you wouldn't have to face him again, Monotaro. I never wanted you for a slave. I wanted you out of that situation. I am against the whole 'slave' thing. That is why I kept getting into so many arguments with Ben."

Monotaro shook his head, "I'm sorry...I still don't understand..."

"Let's move over to the couch," Eagle said, collecting his dish with Monotaro's. He didn't want to reveal that he was here undercover but didn't want to freak Monotaro out either. There were many, many reasons behind the adoption; too many reasons for him to understand even.

The two moved over to the comfortable green couch. "Monotaro, I think that having adult slaves are okay. But having children slaves is bad. And that having adult slaves is only okay when the adults are consenting... and I don't even mean slaves, I mean - oh never mind. Basically I am against forced slavery... in any shape or form. When Matt offered to sell you to me, I knew I could get you out."

"I'm not getting it - why me?" Monotaro questioned.

"Because I knew that Wolf will have a way to get Cub out eventually and I'll help him with it too, when we find him. If we do - I almost hope we don't because then Matt won't be able to either - if you know what I mean? - and I also wanted to adopt you before we went to the authorities and stopped breaking up the ring. I wasn't exactly in there of my own free choice, Monotaro. I mean, I'm no slave. But I'm certainly not a slave owner by choice. But enough about that. I packed your bag last night. We need to leave today."

"But why would you adopt me...you didn't even know me..." Monotaro asked. "Can you really break up what Matt has accomplished, so quickly? And where are we going again?...Sorry for asking so many questions, sir."

"It's fine," Eagle reassured him. "But can you do me a favor? Number one - don't call me sir. I'm not mad, just... anyway, the second thing is, we need to leave now. Your bag is in the car. Is there anything else you want here? Because we're not coming back."

Monotaro looked around the living room, "No, Steve...I don't need - may I go get something from my bedroom?"

"If you're fast. I just don't want Matt or Ben to show up and notice us gone without us going a few hundred miles in between us," Eagle watched as Monotaro walked off and scribbled off his own note to Ben.

_Going. Finish Mutt. Talk to Head. Leaving for Safe. Don't F._

_That meant, "Going, finish mission, talk to headquarters, leaving for a safe house where you won't be able to follow us, don't follow."_

Monotaro sighed as he found a pen in the holder on his desk and searched for a piece of paper. He got to work when he found one.

_If you find this, I'm sorry to say I won't be back for dinner. Don't wait up for me, I've been known to stay out late. I am now legal from the help of 'the sugar.' I hope we can meet up again sometime, perhaps in the afternoon?_

He quickly got his favorite hoodie that Steve had gotten him, glanced around to make sure there was nothing else he wanted , and followed Steve out the door.

Steve didn't say anything for most of the ride. Monotaro was fine with the silence, except it wasn't like his owner to stay quiet for more than five minutes. It was concerning, but Monotaro didn't want to risk asking him if something was wrong. So he stayed silent too, staring out the window as he watched the city - then countryside - go by without incident.

"I'm sorry," Eagle said as he looked at the kid. "I know you want to talk, and so do I. There's a lot to talk about. We're meeting one of my friends and we're going to swap cars and head further south. I have a feeling -" he didn't mention that he _knew_- "that Matt's ring is going to blow up in his face and I don't want to be there when it does."

He knew that part of Fox's job was to go undercover temporarily in the prison system to weed out bad cops. They had followed the plan practically to the letter and had been helped along by Cub calling the police.

"I...what do I have to do for your friend?"

Eagle glanced at him, wondering what the heck he meant, when it hit him. Wolf had told him about what Matt had done to Monotaro and Snake had told him about what he had thought Matt did to Cub. The very thought of Matt raping _children _made him sick. Sure, Alex and Monotaro were teens - but they - never mind. "Nothing, Monotaro," he said, suddenly exhausted. He was glad it would only be a few miles until we get there. "Oh... and I need to tell you something... my real name isn't Steve... It's Nick. You can call me that. Steve was - the name I used for the ring."

Monotaro nodded wearily. "Okay," he said hesitant. "Nick...should I bring my stuff, or leave it with you?"

"You should bring it-" Eagle started before groaning. "Aw, fuck, kid. I'm not going to leave you behind with the Sergeant. You're _my _son now legally - don't you ever forget that, you got it? I look after my own."

Monotaro nodded, "Sorry Nick, but I still don't gather the concept...why did you choose me? I don't owe you anything do I? Does...does Katherine owe you anything?"

"Monotaro... oh, we're here. Look, I'll explain later. Just please trust me when I say that you owe me nothing and neither does... Katherine?" he asked. "Yup, there's good old Sarge. I adopted you because I could - and also because Sarge would whop my ass if I left a child in your situation if there was something I could do about it. Grab your bag, okay?"

He nodded, and got out of the car, squinting at the sun that hurt his eyes. Throwing the bag over his shoulder, he walked slowly over to Nick, where he kept his distance between the two of them. He felt his breath hitch, and he willed his past memories away from his mind...he had to stay clear and focused. He didn't want Nick to be mad at him.

"Hey, Sarge," Eagle greeted. "Thanks for bailing us out. Do me a favor and burn that car, okay? I don't want them tracking us down. Or drive it into the lake or something. Or take it and make the newbies at the campground take it apart. This is Monotaro by the way."

Monotaro repressed a flinch when they both turned to look at him, and he froze when Nick waved a hand for him to come over towards them.

"Eagle treating you well?" the man called Sarge asked.

Monotaro tilted his head, "Eagle? Sir?"

"This feller here. He been laying off the sugar? We used to call him 'Suicidal When Has Chocolate' when he was here. Anyway, I'm sure he is. Monotaro, here. This is for you." The sergeant handed him a gift wrapped bag. "And no, Eagle. You don't owe me anything except a phone call when you're out of this shit with your ex."

"T-thank you sir," Monotaro told him as he held the present. He couldn't remember the last time he had gotten a present. Okay, that wasn't entirely true. Matt had said he had given him a present. Monotaro had no idea what that meant. "I didn't get you anything though..." He was confused. Was he supposed to bring something. Nick - Eagle, hadn't told him. Or did he? Perhaps he did, and Monotaro wasn't paying attention...

"No, Kid. This is for free. Eagle - I don't want to see you again until you're safe. You know what to do if you get in trouble again. Get going, I'll throw them off."

"Thanks, Sir. Monotaro, you have your bag? Good. We're going in this car now." Eagle swapped keys with the sergeant. "Do me a favor and get in the back seat? I don't want them to notice you in the car with me. We're, like, five hours away from there but no chances."

Monotaro nodded and headed for the backseat. He put his things in before getting in himself. He shut the door and buckled his seat belt, waiting for Eagle. Eagle slid in only seconds after him.

"You can use my code name now if you want. It's a long story, don't ask. I'll explain it when it's safe too. I'm curious - what did the sergeant get for you?" he asked. He knew what he had asked the sergeant to get but wanted to see if he'd added anything extra.

Monotaro felt the wrapping paper, "I haven't opened it yet...should I?"

"Go ahead. Then you can take a nap if you want. I'm going to try and get as far away from here as possible." Eagle actually knew exactly where he was going, and Wolf, when he thought about it, would too. The team leader of K-Unit had set up a house for everyone at the start of this mission in different places. Only he and the sergeant knew where all of them were. Eagle was going to his. It was about ten hours' drive time away from where they had been and they had about five more hours to go.

Monotaro carefully undid the wrapping and stared at the box in front of him. There was a note to go along with it, so he read it.

_If you get into any trouble don't hesitate to call. If Eagle does something stupid, let me know. Hope you like it._

Monotaro suppressed a small smile as he opened the box. He looked at in shock. "Eagle...are you sure this isn't yours?"

"Nope. Sarge got me something of my own." Eagle had his own nearly identical cell phone with basically unlimited minutes on it - with a few adaptions. His was virtually untraceable and he could use the web on there if needed.

"It must have cost him a lot..." Monotaro mumbled as he turned the phone over in his hand. He felt a tingling in his stomach, though he didn't know what it was.

"He's got the money to cover it, trust me. He was in a bad situation once when he was younger and someone helped him out - he's paying it forward. I see the cell phone, nice and shiny. What else is there?"

"Hold on," Monotaro opened it more and he found another box. Inside of that was an envelope, a small case, a flashlight and something blue. He picked up the the envelope, thinking it was another letter, but was astounded when he saw the twenty dollar bills stacked up. "Ummm, Eagle?"

Eagle glanced up in the rear view mirror and smirked, knowing exactly what the sergeant had added. He was so relieved. He had enough time to grab enough cash and switch things but hadn't really had time to get anything for Monotaro. Cub's 999 phone call had helped, but had also sped up the case immensely - for good. However, it had also impacted his running plans. "Yes, Monotaro?" he asked, amused.

"Are you positive that this isn't yours?"

Eagle smirked. Good old Sarge would spoil the kid. When he had said that he had adopted Monotaro, the sergeant had demanded to know why he hadn't been named a grandpa yet. Both Eagle and the sergeant had little family; they were close in their own weird way. "Yup. It's for you. For your needs. And wants. Why - what's in there?"

"Money..." Monotaro told him, then grabbed the small rectangular case. Opening it, he stuttered, "A-an ID badge?"

"Yup. You're free now. You'll need one of those," Eagle told him. "We'll change the last name on it later to my real last name - can you see what I mean by last name now?"

Monotaro blushed, "Yes, and I feel stupid now. My real last name is Martin...Niles Martin," he told himself.

"Thank you for telling me," Eagle said. It had taken him a _lot_of digging to find that out but he had managed. "Monotaro, I don't ever want to hear you call yourself stupid. You are very smart. You may not be as smart as some people your age, who are academically, but I bet you most of them could not have gone through what you did and survived. Hey - are there any other boxes?" he asked. He knew that the kid would at least have his inhaler in there and hopefully the digital camera he had suggested.

"But...Matt told me himself. That's why I was never tutored...and I can't count very- very high...and-an-"

"Monotaro, Matt told you that because you were his best drug runner at the time. I know that wasn't your choice and I'm sorry you had to go through that. He never wanted you tutored so that you would have to stay with him forever - at least in his sick mind. Besides, who do you _really _believe? Him or me? What else is in that box?"

"Sorry for insulting you Eagle," Monotaro told him before he grabbed something else. It was a digital camera. "Wow..."

"What did you get?" Eagle asked, flicking his eyes up. He grinned - Sarge had really outdone himself this time. He wanted Monotaro to be able to take pictures when he wanted too, and if a situation called for it, take pictures and be able to use them in court.

"A camera...do you think the next time you see the Sergeant, could you thank him for me?" Monotaro asked.

Eagle chuckled. "Sure, but you'll see him again too I'm sure. Did he get you anything else? He's a good guy."

"He got me -" Monotaro picked up the last item and held it in his hands. It was a blue inhaler...like the one he had a few years ago.

FLASHBACK

_Monotaro was sitting in his room, trying to sleep, when the door buzzed open. He froze, knowing only one person who could open it._

_Matt walked into the room, and stood next to the bed. "Monotaro, get up."_

_Monotaro curled under the blankets more, afraid of what was going to happen._

"_I told you to get up!" Matt yelled at him and grabbed him by his hair and threw him on the floor._

_Monotaro stared at him in shock, and he glanced over to the clock. It was eleven at night. What could Matt possibly want right this second?_

"_You forgot to take your medicine," he reminded Monotaro, who froze._

"_I-I.."_

"_Shut the hell up, I don't want to hear your lies. I'll just give it to you now...but since it's past your bedtime and you really should be asleep, I will administer it into the bloodstream so it works faster. Stay there, and don't move," Matt warned as he stalked out of his room._

_Monotaro was silently cursing himself. How could he have forgotten about that? Not that he wanted to take them anyway...but he wondered what: 'administer it into the bloodstream' meant._

_But Matt soon came back, and Monotaro literally froze on the sight of what Matt was carrying. It was a huge needle. Monotaro backed up, finding his mind blank, and nothing else mattered except that __he _had _to keep the distance between himself and that huge needle._

"_Monotaro! Come here, now!" Matt yelled at him._

_Monotaro could feel the fear inside of him, and he kept shaking. As he stood up, he wobbled a bit, before standing a few feet in front of Matt. He felt his throat constrict, and he couldn't breathe. As soon as Matt lifted up the syringe, he closed his eyes, then he blacked out._

_He woke up, facing the wall, and he gasped and sat up. "So you're finally awake?"_

_Turning around he saw a doctor stand there with Matt next to him, and neither one of them looked happy. "I-I'm sorry sir."_

"_You'd better be!" Matt snapped. "Do you know how much money I spent having this doctor come out here? Just to find out you're fine? What a piece of shit. You're paying for this when he leaves."_

_The doctor just stood there, and acted like he didn't hear anything. "Actually, there is something wrong with your slave," he told Matt._

"_Don't tell me he's allergic to drugs, because he isn't," Matt glared at him._

"_No, no, that is not the problem. But he had a panic attack, which is why he fainted, and it was triggered by asthma."_

"_What the fuck do you mean 'panic attack' and 'asthma'. He doesn't have any of that!"_

"_I believe the symptoms do prove otherwise. However if you don't trust me that's your call, he is your slave after all. But regardless if you think I'm right, I would get him an inhaler just in case."_

_Matt nodded frustrated. "Fine, good bye."_

"_I'll do it for free if you'll let me spend time alone with him for two hours."_

_Matt nodded, "One and a half." and before the doctor could object he turned to Monotaro. "Behave, and we will talk about your punishment afterwards."_

_And he walked away, leaving Monotaro's fate in the hands of the doctor._

_END FLASHBACK_

"Monotaro? Are you okay?" Eagle asked.

"W-what?" Monotaro questioned as he kept looking at the inhaler.

"You kind of zoned out there. What are you thinking about?"

"No-Nothing," he stuttered.

"Does it have something to do with Matt?"

"Huh...no, well yes...no...wait-" Monotaro groaned. He was confused now.

"Did Matt make you 'pay' for something before?" Obviously, Monotaro needed the inhaler. But it had obviously triggered some painful memories for him.

"Well...not directly at least," Monotaro told him, and he didn't want the inhaler anymore. "Could...could you take the money, Eagle?" he asked, his voice cracking.

"Monotaro, I'm not going to make you do whatever it was that Matt made you do. Neither is the sergeant. What Matt did to you was wrong. Can you answer this question for me - did Matt... did he rape you?"

"I...don't understand..." Monotaro told him. "I'm sorry Eagle, I-I just don't read a lot."

_Or at all, _Eagle thought grimly. He knew how controlling Matt was - even Wolf had trouble in his house. "Did he touch you?" he asked in a softer, gentler tone.

Monotaro looked at his shoes, noticing that they already had little scruff marks. "D-does it...matter...?"

"It does to me - _not_because I'm going to touch you, but because I would..." Eagle tried to word it in a way that Monotaro wouldn't take it... well... "Did he touch you after he gave you an inhaler? Is that why you freaked out?" he asked softly.

"He-he didn't," Monotaro told him. Then added, "but..but the doctor did. I'm sorry, Eagle." Monotaro wiped away tears that had fallen.

"It's not your fault, Monotaro. The doctor is sick for doing that. Hey, it's going to be a long drive. You want to take a nap?"

"Yes, and thank you, Eagle." Monotaro put his things to the side, and leaned his head up against the window. Closing his eyes, he fell asleep immediately, feeling safe for the first time in a long time.

Eagle sighed. He knew he and Monotaro would have their challenges but they'd get through it. He was not giving that kid up.

* * *

Alex swallowed as he awoke, blinking twice to clear his vision. Wolf was already up and was looking at a catalog. "What is that?" he asked sleepily. The cop - Joe - had actually been true to his word and brought him back to Wolf. To say Alex was shocked was a grave understatement.

"Morning Cub," Wolf greeted. "This is a flat catalog. Joe gave it to me and told me to start looking."

Alex groaned as he made his way over to their bathroom and walked back over. "I don't mean to rag on Joe, he's a good guy, but how does he expect us to afford anything? We're in the homeless shelter for a reason. And I don't know how we'll be able to..." He drifted off, lost in his own thoughts. "How will we get away from Ben? And what about Monotaro and..."

"Geez, Cub, calm down. Joe is having the police pay for everything, and we will pick a place that is out of town. As for Monotaro and Eagle...he should be calling soon to inform us where he is." Wolf knew that if what he _thought _had happened it wouldn't be Eagle himself calling but the sergeant.

"The police are paying? Does that mean that they - that they know where we live?" Alex drew in a breath.

"No, only Joe will know. And he will give us the money for rent each month beforehand and then some for other necessities."

"So it just works like that? We just... get away?" Alex asked. It seemed too good to be true.

Wolf picked up the phone and motioned to Alex to be quiet. "Mmmhm. Mmmhm. Thanks. Thanks. Bye." With that he hung up. "E and M have made their way to Disneyland," he said quietly, breathing a sigh of relief.

"That's great... right?" Alex questioned.

"Yes, and that was the Sergeant by the way. Perhaps we could get an flat near them..." Wolf thought, wondering if it was possible. He threw that idea out the window, remembering the safe house he had appointed them was a ten-hour drive away and Joe would need to sneak them supplies.

"What f-l-ats are you looking at?" Alex asked as his stomach grumbled. He blushed. "Uh... can we get something to eat, sir?"

Wolf sighed, "I'm not sir, Alex. It's Wolf. And I'm just looking at a few flats a while away... Do you want to go eat now?" he asked as he got up and grabbed both of their coats. Not giving Alex a chance to answer, he moved so that he was already out the door.

* * *

Challenges:

- What does Monotaro look like? How exactly did he get into slavery and how long has he been there?  
- Does Joe have an ulterior motive for helping Wolf and Alex?

- Do you think the rating of the story is okay at T? (most of the drastic topics are done).

-How long will Wolf and Alex be able to be separate from Ben and Matt, and what will happen to them if they're caught?

- Does Joe have any idea what he's just walked into?

Thanks for reading!


	18. A Little Good News, A Long Way To Go

A/N: The picture in our avatar is Monotaro, so thanks for those of you who voted on what you thought he looked like. Don't forget to take our profile poll. Thanks for all your awesome reviews!

In good news-Dinosaur and I are starting to write **the final two chapters** of the book tomorrow. We already have written one of the final, defining scenes. Can you believe we've already written over **116,000 words?  
**

**-Just to clarify there are more than two chapters left. I've got about 4-5 ready to be posted. Dinosaur and I are _writing__ the final two chapters. xD. _  
**

Also, the princess comments that **Samayoutamashi** allowed us to use are actually in this chapter, not the last.

Second author's note: _There is some derogatory language about gay/lesbians in here. Neither Dinosaur nor I agree with these statements; however, we left them in here due to the situation (you'll see below), and because they seemed to fit the book. Please do not take them personally. _

* * *

Wolf was on his way back to his room after having gotten his clothes out of his dryer when he heard the voice.

"Are you the faggot who moved in last week?" He turned to face the man who was about in his mid 30s, white, and had brown hair.

"And that's your business because?" Wolf questioned the man. He really did _not _get along well with the other shelter residents.

"Because I don't like gays and I don't like faggots who raise kids," the man responded simply.

"Well, that's your fucking problem. Because one: I am not gay. If you have something against same sex relationships," Wolf said, then mumbled, "_forced _or not, then you'd better get over yourself."

The man turned towards him, growling. "I don't like-"

It was then when Alex appeared. Wolf had told him he'd be right back and he wasn't back yet. "Dad?" he asked, glancing sheepishly at the man.

"Is your son a gay too, faggot?" the man asked, leering at Wolf.

"Fuck off," Alex told him. "What my dad does in bed is none of your business." He had heard what Wolf had told Joe and both agreed that it would be best to look like father and son for now. They could always say Matt had taken Alex's custody away from Wolf- which was totally true, just not in the way Joe was thinking.

"Oh, it is my business," the man slurred as he walked towards Alex. "If your daddy is gay, it means you will be too, faggot. Better kill you before you get started having sex with _gay _people like your daddy." He slapped Alex, who fell to the floor.

"What the hell is your problem?" Wolf yelled at him. He was about to throw his own punch when a hand landed on his shoulder.

"What seems to be the problem here, Wolf?" Joe asked him as he glanced at the man, then Alex who was still on the floor.

"This bastard-" Wolf started before he was interrupted.

"The faggot-" the man said, who looked considerably nervous as the police officer showed up.

They were both interrupted by Joe who held up his hand to silence them.

"The _bastard_ hit me," Alex said, finally sitting up and glaring at him. He probably could have taken the man out but didn't want Wolf to get into trouble; he knew Wolf was already in enough trouble for having him in here. "Nice way to go, Mister. Hit an already abused kid. Why are you here? Did your same-sex partner kick you out, or did your wife decide to like lesbians?" He was tired of being abused, and he was going to let other people know about it!

The man's face turned red but before he could do anything Joe stepped in. "Would you like to be charged with assaulting a minor?"

"N-no," the man stuttered.

Joe nodded, expecting that answer. "Okay, now why don't you apologize, to _both _of them, and head on your way out the door?"

"I'm sorry, _both of you_," the man sneered. He moved towards his own door and slammed the room. It was then when Alex noticed that they were the furthest room away from him on the floor. _Good_. He rubbed his stinging cheek.

"Nice timing," he complimented Joe.

"Not a problem, I'm a cop after all," he reminded Wolf. "It's my job."

"Anyway, can we go to our room?" Alex asked as he pushed himself up. It was the only part of the homeless shelter he felt comfortable in. Everyone else here was over eighteen. Most lived alone. Alex was only allowed in because of Joe's insistence and because Wolf had legally adopted him.

Joe nodded, "You can follow me. You're just down this hall here, three doors away from the bathroom."

"Right," Wolf responded. "Good thing too..." They walked to the room in awkward silence. When they got there, Alex flopped on his bed.

"It's been _so _nice not getting hit for three days," he muttered. Then he turned towards the bathroom door and walked in, slamming it shut. "Damn fucking residents!"

"You might consider getting counseling for him when we set you up in your new place," Joe said. He honestly thought Alex needed counseling desperately, and that Wolf did too, but he knew better than to push the man - suggestions were the best here. "Anyway, I came down to talk to both of you about your choices, and about how things are working out. How is being away from Ben? Are you handling it okay? How is Alex coping? By the way, I registered him as a homeschooler so that he wouldn't have to go back to school."

Wolf just tilted his head, "What is this, the twenty questions game? If so then you've already asked three."

"Shall we play the twenty questions game?" Joe asked. He had been through some of the film in Matt's house and had seen Wolf playing that with another kid who had been named Monotaro. Wolf, whether he realized it or not, was good with kids.

Wolf shrugged, "Why not, though do you want to wait for Cub?"

"Cub is here," Alex responded. He quietly closed the bathroom door and dragged up a chair. "I get to start, right? Question number one: Can we arrest that _nice man _down the hallway on charges of assaulting a minor?"

"I could..." Joe responded. "However, that means paperwork that I need to fill out."

Alex glanced at Wolf, then groaned. "Oh, no. Never mind. That would just be another way for so-and-so to track us down. Your turn for the question."

"Question two: what are your relationships with Matt? Since he's on the lookout for Cub, I need to know."

"Matt is a fucking psychopath," Alex informed him. "He started in on Dad first. He _sold _Dad to Ben - I don't know who's more of a psychopath, Ben or Matt - but …" he stopped, noticing Wolf's glare.

"Continue on, Alex. I'd like to hear your perspective."

Alex snorted. "Matt had Dad for a little while. He traded him to Jeff. Something went sour between Dad and Jeff, still don't know what, Dad probably intimidated him with a glare or something, and then he got passed back to Ben, who liked to pass Dad back to Matt to help him 'control' him, pretty sweet partnership right?"

"Cub," Wolf glared at him. "I am going to fucking kill you if Matt doesn't first," he threatened. He then turned to Joe, "Hardly any of that was the truth. Cub likes to over-exaggerate, big time."

"So what's your version of the truth?" Joe questioned, raising an eyebrow. "I'm just getting all perspectives, here. I have Matt locked up on rape charges right now. By the way, Cub, one of my partners was clearing out the house, and this was addressed to you."

Alex quickly scanned the note. _If you find this, I'm sorry to say I won't be back for dinner. Don't wait up for me, I've been known to stay out late. I am now legal from the help of 'the sugar.' I hope we can meet up again sometime, perhaps in the afternoon? _He knew instantly that it was from Monotaro and that Monotaro was finally free, adopted by Eagle. He breathed a silent sigh of relief and pocketed the note.

"Well as you call it, my 'perspective', is the truth might I add. And that wasn't how it went down. I was trying to get away from Ben, to get legal custody of Cub, when I got kidnapped. Hear that Cub? _Kidnapped _by said psycho Matt. In which we," he referred to Alex and him, "were then traded off. I went with Jeff, while Cub stayed with Matt...A few days later I was sold back to Ben. And all that time wasted just to be back in the same spot I was before."

"So... you were in a relationship with 'Ben', consensual or not notwithstanding, and you were trying to escape the relationship to get custody of your son. As you were escaping Matt kidnapped you and eventually sold you back to Ben. I'm sorry to ask more than my questions, but I need to know for legal reasons. What happened when you were sold to Ben? How were you treated? What did he say?"

Wolf sighed. "I guess I was in a relationship with Ben, though not the way you're thinking. And yes, your playback seems to be correct. When I got back to Ben, he just hit me _a lot _more, and he wouldn't let me eat. Just little things like that. Oh, and he would call me his bed buddy."

"He sounds like a charmer," Joe remarked. "We saw some... footage of what took place in Matt's house. Ben is still on the run and we have taken Matt in for questioning - they were getting ready to release him. That's why I'm back here. Your turn for a question now, Wolf. Is that what you prefer to be called, or should I call you James?"

Wolf nodded taking in all the information. "Where are we going to have to go after this? And how long will it be until you think you will capture Ben? Oh, and you can call me either, your call."

"Okay then, James. We are working pretty actively to capture Ben. This information you give will give me the data to help my superiors move even faster. Cub, my next question is for you. You told me some about how Matt treated you. How did Ben treat you?"

"He mostly hit me, drugged me and stabbed my hand once. Matt made sure to have me at his house all of the time so that Dad couldn't take off with me," Alex explained. He held out his hand which was still slightly scared from where Ben had stabbed him.

"Did you ever go to the doctor to have that looked at? And you were at Matt's house most of the time? How did Matt threaten you?"

"Yes, a doctor looked at it. When Dad got captured by Matt and taken back to Ben, Matt kept me away from Dad. Basically, Matt knew Dad wanted to get away. He also knew that I could escape if I set my mind too it. Firstly, he drugged me a _lot_. Then, when I kept resisting, he-" Alex's breath hitched - "he r-r-r-aped me, and that's where it gets fuzzy. I think I'm gonna be sick," he said, bolting from the room and back to the bathroom.

Wolf sighed. "That's still a huge subject for him." He didn't blame the kid - he hadn't been raped, and he didn't like talking about it.

Joe nodded. "I should have given him more time."

Wolf grimaced when he heard Alex vomiting into the toilet. Joe then decided to ask Wolf another question, "Did you get raped, James? I'm sorry, but I have to ask because Cub did... I know it's not what you want to hear or answer... it goes with the job."

Wolf gritted his teeth together and took a deep breath, "Well, the answer is no, so drop it. When are we going to move?" he asked, changing the subject.

"I want to have you move on Monday," Joe responded. "I have the day scheduled off and can help transport you there. I want nobody else to know where you are but me. Thank you for answering that; I'm sorry for asking."

Alex exited the bathroom. "I don't want to talk anymore," he said as he laid down on his bed and covered himself with his blankets.

"That's fine Cub, I'm sorry for bringing that up. We're talking about where you two are moving to," Joe told him.

"As long as it's away from Ben, I don't care."

"Let me get you some painkillers, Cub," Wolf respond. He moved towards the bed and handed Cub the medicine before going outside with Joe.

"What are your needs in a house, James? Anything specific?"

"Not really. Two bedrooms, perhaps two bathrooms. But we could easily do without one of them. And one story. Other than that, just the basics," Wolf told him as he leaned against the closed door.

"I was thinking about moving you in an flat about thirty miles away from here. I know the woman who runs the place. She's very sweet, and she wouldn't know about your situation. I'm just suggesting that because I feel like it would be easier for you to hide among people. Do you think Cub could handle that okay?"

"He should do just fine-"

Wolf almost fell as the door swung open and Alex bolted down the hallway and slammed the door shut. They could hear the retching sounds coming from within.

"On second thought, I should probably ask him first..."

* * *

Alex swallowed as he watched Joe and Wolf moving in the bags. Wolf's arm hadn't been broken, just sprained, and it was healed now. It was _his _arm that was now sprained - one of the residents of the homeless shelter had gotten in an altercation with another resident and had knocked him down the stairs.

"I hate this sling," he informed Wolf as he dropped his bag on the floor of their one-story house. After seeing Cub's reaction to 'flats' and other people, Wolf and Joe had a good long talk out of Alex's earshot. When they were done, all Alex knew was that they would not be moving to another apartment.

At least his stomach flu seemed to be almost over.

"Go pick out a room," Wolf informed him as he set down two more boxes. "I don't care which one; you choose first."

Joe came in and set down a box. He then sighed and sat on said box.

"Do you get paid extra for helping us out?" Wolf asked as he opened one box and started unpacking. They only had like ten boxes, if that, getting most of their things at a salvation army that was near them. Joe had helped them finance that.

Joe smiled. "No, I just promised someone who helped me out of a bad situation once that I would pay it forward. Now I am. How has Cub been the past few days?"

"Ehh, he's had better days. But it seems as if the 'flu' has passed. I can only hope," he told Joe.

"That's good. How's his arm? Oh, and he should know that the resident who slapped him - and _happened_to push him down the stairs - has been arrested."

"His arm is good, though he says it doesn't hurt most of the time. I know he's lying, so I give him pain killers before bed and in the morning, and he has to wear that sling for the next few days. He will be glad to hear that. Hell, I'm happy the bastard's in jail. He had it coming to him. He's lucky that you showed up when you did, or I would have broken his nose...or jaw, maybe both."

Joe chuckled. "Well, I'm going to go now. Oh, wait. Can you call Alex back? I got something for both of you." With that, he went out to his truck and retrieved two identical boxes.

He walked back in. "My arm is _fine_, Wolf. I just took the painkillers. I should be high in about five minutes."

"Here you are, just a little something that would make your lives easier," he told them as he handed them each a box.

"You open yours first, Wolf man," Alex told him.

"If you ever call me 'Wolf man' again, I will call you 'princess' _all _the time." He opened the package anyway, and pulled out a cellphone first. "This is nice," he commented.

Joe nodded. "Cub has one as well. It has my direct contact number in it. So if anything happens, you can notify me right away."

Wolf nodded and grabbed an envelope and wallet. Opening the wallet, he found a new ID badge. "How did you know I needed a new one? Ben burned mine a long time ago. He said I belonged to _him _now or some sick shit."

Joe shrugged. "Just an educated guess."

Wolf retrieved the envelope and opened it. He stared at it. "Why so many gift cards?" he dumped the envelope on the nearest box, and many gift cards from different places fell out, as well as some money. He breathed a silent sigh of relief; he would be able to get Alex some new clothes. Actually, he could get both of them some new clothes.

Joe smiled again. "I talked to my friend who works in the domestic violence unit. He talked to _his _friend, and long story short, they just had a few stores give them more gift cards then they knew what to do with, so..."

"That was nice," Alex commented as he looked over his phone.

"Yes, it was...so then what's all this money for?" Wolf asked Joe.

"A friend of mine passed away about a year ago. He left a trust fund for this sort of thing." The man smiled. "Now I know you have something else in that box."

"There is?" Wolf questioned as he looked. "I don't see anything."

Joe slapped his forehead, "Sorry, I forgot to add them," he dug in his pocket and pulled out a pair of keys, and threw them at Wolf. "There you go."

"These are the keys to your car," he told him.

Joe shook his head, "Correction, those keys are _yours_ and they go perfectly with _your _car. Like the one you drove here."

"I can't just jip you out of a car. Then you don't have one," Wolf told him.

Joe opened his mouth to answer, but Alex cut him off. "We drove two cars here, Wolf man," he said as he unwrapped the final thing. He had gotten everything Wolf had, minus the car keys. He smirked at what he saw.

"Got that, _princess_."

Alex opened his mouth to retort but closed it, instead saying, "Thanks, Joe."

"You're welcome. James, you didn't jip me out of a car. When I told my friend about your situation, he said he was getting ready to donate his car to Goodwill but would rather it go to someone in need. That someone just happened to be you. Cub, like your shoes? A little birdie told me the size."

He'd found a pair of old, scuffed up, broken shoes in the closet Alex had stayed at while at Matt's. Matt had confirmed (very grumpily) that they were Alex's and wanted to know "why the fuck" Joe was asking. "You like the shoes, then, Cub? Try them on."

Alex picked up the shoes out of the box. They were black and had little borders of red. He threw his other shoes off that were falling apart now, and tried the new ones on. "They fit perfectly!"

"Thanks, Joe." Wolf had looked for some shoes for Cub at the thrift store but none fit. He had been worried about how to buy shoes for Cub; how to get around. Now at least some of his problems were solved. "I don't know how we'd have gotten out of there without you."

"Not a problem. I think I'll be heading out. Both of you have my number, so you can call anytime," Joe told them.

"Thanks," Alex commented again as Joe left, shutting the door behind him.

He yawned and stretched. "I think I'm going to bed..." he slowly walked down the hallway.

"Okay..." Wolf said, before turning around to find all the boxes still there, unpacked. He heard a bedroom door close, and lock. "Cub!"

"Oh, yeah," Joe added. "These are the locks to the doors of the house. I thought you might need them."

"Great, I gave a teenager a bedroom with a lock on the door...some battle this is going to turn out to be."

"You can do it," Joe told him.

* * *

1. What did Ben mean when he said "you belong to me now" as he burned Wolf's identification card? Alternatively-did that scene ever happened?

2. Is Joe _really_ doing all of this out of the goodness of his heart? Or is their some hidden, deeply rooted ulterior motive?

3. Does Matt own any local cops in the police department where Joe works, and if so how many?

4. How long are Wolf and Cub going to be able to stay away from Matt?

* * *

_Despite being nearly finished, your feedback is valuable. You notice things we missed during the creation of the story. For those who like the sneak peaks, we will be giving three people **two** sneak peaks from the next chapter. We will be drawing names at random. Your review is one entry, and every challenge you answer is another entry. (Please make challenge answers more than one word). We'll update on Saturday, July 14th. _

_By the way, did you realize that in this chapter, **both Monotaro and Cub were adopted? What do you think about that? **  
_

_Thanks to everyone who takes the time to leave feedback. Enjoy your day!  
_


	19. Bad Boys What Ya Gonna Do?

_Dinosaur and I would like to say a huge thank you to everyone who has read, reviewed, and favorited this story! So far we have 29 people who have favorited the story, 60 people who are following it, and over 11,000 views! THANK YOU ALL SO MUCH! Seriously, if you're still reading, please take the time to leave at least some feedback. It would mean so much to Dinosaur and I. _

Who would have known that a psychotic Ben could be so popular?

Also, I'd just like to note that we have at least ten or more chapters **to**** post** left in this story; we're simply **writing** the final few. But there is **much more to come**. We've only posted 67,000 out of our 116k words, so expect a longer ride!

We're posting tonight on Friday because Writer With Sprite (who usually posts) has a class that she has to get up for at 6:00 in the morning for. **We're spoiling you**! Please **spoil us** with reviews!

* * *

Wolf and Alex made it through the next month as a total trial period. Ben was still on the run. Wolf knew that part of his mission was to get captured by the jail, but admittedly didn't know how that was supposed to play out, so he stopped worrying about that and started focusing on Cub. With Matt locked up until trial, Wolf took Alex to a psychologist out of town. That was where they were at now.

It had been three weeks since they had been moved into this place and they found themselves settling into a routine. Today was Alex's second counseling appointment. On their way back, Wolf was going to redeem one of his McDonald's gift cards for him as a treat. Alex had been doing much better since being able to talk to his counselor, a guy named Paul Lewis. Paul Lewis was in his mid-thirties and had a PHD in counseling.

"All done today, Alex?" Wolf asked as he stretched. He had wanted to get the man approved through MI6 but hadn't dared to make a phone call. He knew that their house and cell phones were clear but didn't really know who they could trust in MI6 anymore - that was much more Ben's area.

"Yep, I'm ready to go," Alex told Wolf.

"See you same time next week. Be good!" Paul said. When he had heard about Wolf's situation, he had refused to take any payment and had said he'd do Alex's sessions for free.

"Thanks, Paul," Wolf said. He would eventually get counseling for himself but didn't want to talk until the mission was over.

"No problem! Goodbye!" Paul said as Alex and Wolf walked outside.

"You want some lunch, kid? I'm buying," Wolf asked as he pulled out a few gift cards. "Where do you want to go? We have a choice between Wendy's, McDonald's, and that one restaurant down the street from where we live... Uh..." To help support their house well on off time and make his cover look more authentic, Wolf had also managed to find part-time work as a weekend waiter about two blocks away to start supporting his own needs. Technically, he was still on the mission and wanted to be able to resume his normal life when it was over. The nice thing about it being on the weekend was that Alex could generally handle him being away that long.

It wasn't as if the kid couldn't be independent, but having just been recently traumatized, Wolf was hesitant to leave him alone for very long. That and the fact that Wolf still worried about Ben being on the run.

"You mean Subway?" Alex asked, referring to the place that was down the street. "That's my vote. I don't need fast food anyway."

"Yeah, that one. How did the therapist go? What did you talk about, if there's anything you want to share?"

"It went... well I guess. We just talked about stress, triggers, and things like that. How to deal with them. That's about it... did you enjoy those old magazines on home remodeling?" Alex smirked.

"No, I took a nap," Wolf admitted. He had been exhausted ever since moving out of Matt's house. For one thing, he hadn't exactly been able to sleep much. Now with Alex, he was dealing with night terrors and... yeah. He cut himself off before he could continue on his downward spiral. "Here we are," he said, pulling into the Subway. "Order what you want, no limits."

Alex smiled and ordered, getting a foot long, turkey and ham, with Swiss, lettuce, tomatoes, and peppers. Wolf felt unoriginal and ordered the same. He handed Alex his Coke before paying the cashier with the gift card.

"You like turkey and ham a lot. Do we have enough at home in the fridge?" Wolf questioned.

"I do," Alex confirmed. "And we ran out a while ago...I tend to eat when I can't go back to sleep."

"Should we do a grocery run then, or go home, let you take a nap, and then do a grocery run?"

"I feel like a nap would work, but you haven't made the list yet for the store, have you?" Alex teased him as he ate the sandwich.

"We could just wing it," Wolf grumbled as he took another bite out of his sandwich.

"Right, and while you tell me to get the produce stuff, you will forget everything. Like the ham and turkey for instance," Alex told him.

"Anyway... you were saying we should go home and take a nap, so let's just do that." The two finished their sandwiches, threw away their trash, and went home. Alex went straight into his room and fell asleep, exhausted. He was being legitimately home schooled, as Wolf did not want to risk enrolling him in public school right now for many different reasons.

Wolf had almost finished making the list when he heard the gun click behind him. He froze. "I finally found you. You were desperate to run, weren't you?"

"Fuck you."

"I seem to remember that you didn't appreciate me calling you my 'bed buddy'...but things could change," Ben told him.

_Flashback_

_"Come on Wolf, let's go," Ben said as he got out of the car and entered the door to his house. Wolf sighed as he looked at the table. He just wanted something to go right today. Of course, considering he was going to bed in about 20 minutes (or so he hoped) that probably wasn't going to happen. _

_"Sit," Ben said, gesturing towards the table. Wolf felt like something bad was going to happen; he hadn't been ordered to sit on furniture since Ben had bought him. Ben went into his room and came back. "I found out that Cub took a £20 note from my wallet. Want to explain why?"_

_"I don't know why," Wolf said, although he half wondered if Ben was making this all up. He bet that Cub took the note because he needed something to eat. _

_"Doesn't really matter. Look what I found when I was cleaning your room," Ben said, flashing Wolf's wallet at him. Wolf growled as he attempted to snatch the wallet. _

_"This look familiar?" Ben demanded, flashing the identification card Wolf had for the case._

_"Yes, but-"_

_"Now, now, now," Ben tsk-tsked, "You know slaves aren't allowed to have an identification card." _

_"You son of a-"_

_"Slaves are supposed to have a different type of identification card. We should get rid of this one before someone catches it on you," Ben said. He grabbed the card and lifted the lighter. '_

_"No, please!" Wolf said. He knew in the current area almost everything required an identification card for this exact reason._

_"Sorry," Ben said as the flame touched the plastic. Wolf attempted to grab it but was shoved to the floor by Ben. He hadn't had anything to eat that day and felt sick to his stomach. Ben kept him pinned down with a boot firmly on his back. Wolf watched him burn the remainder of the plastic and toss the identification card on the table. _

_"Good, now that that's over with," Ben said, ruffling Wolf's hair, "Let's get something to eat."_

_"Fuck thi-"_

_"Do you want me to go after Cub?"_

_"No!"_

_"Then you better listen."_

End Flashback

Wolf felt sick to his stomach at the memory; he had to get Alex out of there. "I'll go with you if you'll leave Alex alone," he said. "It's me you want, not him."

"I suppose that could work..." Ben told him, and Wolf sighed in relief. "However, Matt is looking for him too... should I point him in the right direction?"

"Only if you want me to slit your throat."

"Is that a threat?" Ben asked.

"Of course not. It's a promise."

Alex had just managed to pull himself from his nap when he saw Ben and Wolf in the kitchen. "Oh, fuck!" he swore, grabbing his cell phone from his pocket and running away.

Now more desperate than ever to get Ben away, Wolf said, "You want me as a slave, you have me, but only if we leave right now."

"Fine, but no promises that Matt won't show up here some time, whether I tell him or not. He's been following me, so Cub will be joining us soon. Let's go."

* * *

Alex paced his room and glanced at the door every now and then. He was patiently waiting for Joe to pick up, and after the fourth ring Alex swore and hung up. He grabbed a small book bag and threw his new shoes on. What better way to break them in then going for a nice run? He picked up a few clothes, all of his money and various other things that he didn't want to leave behind.

He checked his clock on the phone, and five minutes had passed since Ben left with Wolf. Putting on a hoodie he opened his window and jumped out. He couldn't wait around for Matt to show up. He needed to get moving with or without the help of Joe. Alex trekked through the backyard and jumped the fence to get to the other block.

He broke out into a run, avoiding various cars that could be Matt. He had run about three blocks when his phone rang.

"H-hello," he said out of breath.

"_Alex?" _Joe asked.

"Y-yes, Joe...h-he took Wolf, there was nothing I could do. And you wouldn't answer so I-"

"_Woah Alex, calm down. Start at the beginning, I'm on my way."_

"Ben, he just showed up out of nowhere and he took Wolf. He said Matt would be on his way for me so I called you but-"

"But? Okay, wait. First things first - where are you? I was already heading up your way. Are still at your house? If so, get the hell out-"

"I'm not stupid, Joe," Alex interrupted and ducked in an alley way. He slid down the wall to rest. "I packed up and ran as soon as you wouldn't pick up-"

"Hang on, is that you under the bench?" Joe asked as he turned out of the alley way and saw the hoodie he remembered Wolf picking out.

"Yeah...I'm near the bench... Are you?" Alex peeked out of the bench, and saw Joe's car a few feet away.

"Get in!" Joe called, hanging up his phone as he threw open the door. "I'm calling my department. They'll get the search in for Wolf." With that, he did so, reporting the situation, then hung up and started calling someone else, telling them to start a trace on Wolf's phone.

"What happens now?" Alex asked as he put away his phone and set the book bag on the floor by his feet.

"Now you're going to come with me and we're going to go to your house. My buddies from the police department are on their way here. When I helped Wolf get your custody, I put me as your backup guardian, just in case something like this happened. Do you have any idea why Ben wants Wolf or what he'll do?"

"Hell if I know, he's a psychopath," Alex told him. "And thanks for coming and letting me crash at your place for the time being. As far as what Ben and Matt are going to do, I have no clue, but they were talking about doing this huge new drug that would be addicting...but I don't know where they would do it at."

"So Matt and Ben are into drugs then?" Joe asked. Another thing they could charge Ben and Matt for, he thought. He sighed. Wolf's situation mirrored the one Joe had been forced into only a few years ago. He had been extremely fortunate not to have any children complicating the matters and his partner hadn't been hung up on making him a slave.

_Flashback_

_"Oh, little Joseph!" His partner called as he walked in the door. Joe growled. He hated this. He was a cop, he was supposed to be the one giving orders and taking down the bad guys, not being beaten up by them every night. _

_Nathan had seemed like a great guy when they'd started dating. Likable, friendly, and the perfect guy. Then they'd made the mistake of moving in together, and Nathan had become a nightmare. Joe had found out that he was into drugs and drank heavily, even on the job. Joe wanted to take action against him but didn't know how._

_"Joseph... don't hide from me, Joseph..."_

_Deciding he'd had enough, Joe opened the window. He'd packed a to go bag and had it ready. Now he had to move, fast before - it was too late. The door opened._

_"You're not trying to get away from me, little Joey, are you? I don't like people who get away from me." _

_Everything went black._

_End flashback_

Soon after that, Joe's partner on the force, a guy named Lucas, had noticed what was going on. Lucas had walked in on Nathan beating Joe one night and had arrested Nathan and hauled him off despite Joe's protests. Lucas had helped Joe with filing a restraining order and keeping himself safe from Nathan until Nathan was safely locked up, a few states away. Apparently the guy had some outstanding warrants and was transferred back to those states. Joe had been Nathan's personal prisoner while he was there. Joe knew almost exactly what Wolf was going through and wanted to make sure that Ben didn't get away with the crime.

Besides, he'd promised Lucas he'd pay it forward. Now he could. He had no ulterior motive except to do his job as a police officer and do it well and to get Alex and James out of this situation that they never should've been in the first place.

Alex spoke up again, surprising him. "Yeah, they're probably both into drugs; they forced me and Wolf to consume like ten pills a day. I wouldn't be surprised if they took drugs too, bunch of bastards they both are..."

"Yeah, they sound very pleasant," Joe said with a shake of his head. He also hadn't had the drug angle involved. Another thing to be grateful for. With that, they parked in front of the house that Alex was staying at, only to find Wolf standing in front of it.

"Cub, thank God!" Wolf exclaimed as he embraced the kid tightly in a hug, not caring who saw. "I was panicked when you were gone!"

Alex shoved Wolf back a bit. "Me! You were the one that went with a joy ride with Ben, how did you get away? What did he do to you? Are you hurt? What th-"

"Whoa, one question at a time. To answer your first one he didn't do anything to me but try and drug me. I flung them back in his face, opened the door and ran. I think he wanted Matt to kidnap you but when you took off, he was more preoccupied with finding you."

And there was the little side note that Ben had wanted to drop: Matt was out of jail and on their trail.

"It's been lovely talking, but I think we could talk better at a safe house. Pack up what you need while I call and explain what's going on," Joe said as he stepped into the house.

"I have what I need," Alex told Wolf as he patted his book bag.

"Did you get your cash and your gift cards? Grab your to-go bag from behind the bed too," Wolf ordered as he went to do just that. He had everything of his ready and he tossed the gift cards and cash that he had left into an envelope.

"My boss is coming in twenty minutes to take a look at the scene. We're going to be gone by then," Joe responded. "I'll explain why when we're at the safe house. You boys don't play with small fire, do you?" he asked Wolf.

Wolf shook his head. "Unfortunately, no."

Alex came back in then. "Ready whenever you guys are."

"Let's go then," Joe said, and the three got into the police car. Alex sat in the back, Wolf in the front. "So Alex, how is the counseling going? We may be able to make some arrangements to keep that up. I'll talk to Paul; he's a good guy."

"It's going good...I was long due to talk to someone about my...uh, problems," he said thinking about MI6, and never getting to talk to anyone about his missions.

Joe smirked. "That's good. We'll try and keep it up then. I know Paul. He'll make it work. How is homeschooling going for you both?"

"He's doing good at it."

"Wolf man needs to touch up on his maths," Alex smirked.

Wolf shrugged. "Princess can help himself in that area. He's better than I am."

"Glad to hear that you two are getting along well... and look, we're here," Joe said as he gestured towards his own house.

The three went in the house and Alex instantly crashed. Wolf's concern for him grew; he knew he needed to take him to a doctor... but how was he supposed to do that now?

* * *

Challenges:

What will happen now? How safe will their safe house be?

Where is the rest of the gang?

Is Ben still on the good side?

** Sneak peak rule is still in affect. Everyone who reviews the next chapter will get a different sneak. I hope that every one of you whom has read this far clicks the review button even if it's just to say good job. PLEASE. PLEASE. That would make Dinosaur and I's day. And you know what, if we got 15 reviews for the chapter, we'd update early.


	20. The Cat Strikes Back

A/N: I know there are concerns about Alex being 'weak', and I'm going to edit the author's note in ch2 to include a note of this. Notice the weakness is mostly when he's around Matt. That's because of the drug cocktail Matt is feeding him, it's pretty much out of Alex's control when he takes these drugs.

**Update: you were given this early because sixteen people reviewed the last chapter! w00t! Please continue to review! **

...Now onto the story...

* * *

"Eagle, I can't find my shoes!" Monotaro said as he opened his bedroom door. He looked a lot better than he had last month. He had given up his drug habit completely, although the cravings had been a bitch to get through. Partly giving up the craving ahd been simply because he a) did not want to take drugs, and b) there were no drugs around to take. With Eagle's help, he was getting better.

Now it was nearly forty minutes until his next counseling appointment and he could not find his damn shoes.

"Are they by the door?" Eagle said as he walked out of the kitchen.

"No... I thought I left them there so I checked first... s-sorry," Monotaro stuttered. He was still getting used to the fact that Eagle wouldn't beat him.

Eagle sighed, knowing the kid was getting frustrated. "Here, let me help." After about ten minutes of searching, Eagle gave up.

"Found them!" Monotaro called. They were behind the toilet. "I'm r-r-ready, Sir."

"We're not leaving yet," Eagle told him. "Come over here Monotaro, I need to tell you something."

"I'm sorry!" Monotaro said as he dropped the shoes. "I didn't mean too..." he slowly dragged himself over but sat as far as he possibly could from Eagle.

"That's better. Now, my name isn't sir, it's Nick. You can remember that right, Niles?"

"Y-Y-yeah. S-s-sorry, Nick." Monotaro quickly grabbed his inhaler and took a deep breath before closing his eyes and counting to ten silently. "Please don't beat me, Nick! I didn't mean too!"

Eagle sighed, knowing he went to far. "Calm down, kid, I'm not going to beat you. Ever. Just breathe, I'm not mad either. How about you get your shoes on and then we can leave?"

"W-what did you want to tell me, Nick? Are you g-g-giving me away? Are you s-s-selling me?" With that, Monotaro ran straight from the couch to the bathroom, vomiting everything he'd eaten in the toilet. Eagle had unknowingly triggered a flashback of the last time he'd seen his mother.

Eagle groaned, and swore he would never mess with the kid again. He got up and stood outside the bathroom door. "I'm not getting rid of you, Niles, not going to sell you or give you away. I adopted you, you understand that right? And I just wanted to explain that you don't have to call me Sir."

"I just... I'm sorry."

It was a silent ride to Monotaro's therapy appointment.

* * *

Monotaro's therapist was a woman named Lisa. She was about sixty. "Pleasure to see you two, Niles, Nick. Niles, you can go ahead in. I just want to talk to Nick for a sec."

Monotaro nodded and went into the room.

"How has he been?" she asked.

"Good, except this morning I think I freaked him out...never mind, I did freak him out," a frustrated Eagle said as he ran through his hair. He was so not used to this parenting thing.

"Describe what you mean?" she asked. "Freak out is a different reaction for everyone and it would help if I knew what happened."

"Well he was looking for his shoes, and he called me sir. So I told him that my name was Nick, not sir. I think he had a flashback because he kept talking about me selling him and getting rid of him."

She nodded. "How did you handle it?"

"I apologized and told him that I adopted him, and I wasn't getting rid of him. Oh, and he also begged me not to beat him. I responded with that I would never beat him."

"It sounds like you handled it well. I'll send him out when we're done. Feel free to take a nap if you want." With that, she went back in the room and closed the door. Niles looked down at the floor before meeting her gaze. "So Niles, how has your week been? Anything good happen?" she asked him.

"A-alright I guess," Niles told her even as he inwardly winced about that stupid question. "N-nothing r-r-really happened..."

She gave him a reassuring smile. "So... is there anything specific that you wanted to talk about with me with this week?"

"Cub...I just can't stop thinking about him. What if something happened to him? What if Matt got to him, and-and now-"

"Cub is...?" the woman asked.

The door burst open then, causing both of them to startle up. "Niles. We have to leave. I'm sorry, Lisa. It's an emergency. They found Cub, but he's being moved to a safe house and we're going with him. Matt -" Eagle lowered his voice - "Matt broke out. Let's go."

"What..." Monotaro said as he immediately got up and followed Eagle out the door. He turned back to Lisa. "I'm sorry, I have to go. But Cub is my friend, and he needs someone right now."

Lisa nodded. She had been aware of the situation. "It's fine, Niles. Nick, if you need anything, just call."

The two quietly got in the car and drove back to the house, where Monotaro quickly packed everything back into the suitcase he'd unloaded only a few days earlier. He felt stupid for thinking that Nick would ever beat him, but then again, he'd grown up with that threat for how many years? He couldn't imagine Eagle not beating him too.

Unless... he forced that thought out of his mind and quickly grabbed a pen.

_Don't wait up for me_

_MONOTARO WAS HERE_

Hopefully Eagle wouldn't be too mad about him defacing the walls. If he knew he was never coming back to someplace he'd been, he would do that. Just in case he did go back. Or in case someone was looking for him.

"I'm ready!" he called, moving out of the room before closing the door.

"Great, let's get moving then," Eagle commented as he turned off the light and opened the front door. Gesturing for Monotaro to get in the car, he locked the door and stared at the keys. Deciding that he didn't know if they would be back, and not wanting to keep the key on him, he chucked it into the neighbors' bush and got in the car.

"Eagle, are you mad?" Monotaro asked as he threw his suitcase in the car and hopped in the front. "Did I do something wrong? Why are you throwing the key in the yard?"

"You ask too many questions," Eagle snapped at him, trying to calculate if they leave now what the possibility of them running into Matt, or Ben, would be.

_Flashback_

"_Mom, what are you doing?" Monotaro asked as he w__a__ndered into the room. His mother was sitting there, holding a needle into her arm. She smiled at him._

"_Just having a drug trip, dear."_

_Monotaro wasn't stupid. He knew __what__ she was doing. He just didn't understand why. Sure, he had taken drugs once, but - oh, there was no use explaining it._

"_You ask too many questions."_

_END FLASHBACK_

Monotaro forced himself to block the rest of the memories out but they hit him just the same. He coughed and started breathing heavily. "I-I-I-I- am so-so-so sorry! I d-d-did not mean too! I didn't mean to ask a question!" He quickly grabbed his inhaler and took a deep breath. "Please don't beat me, Nick!" He then thought, _no, he won't beat me, Oh god he won't beat me, what is he going to do to me? _"I'm sor-sorr-y for asking too many questions. What do I have to do for you as punishment, Eagle?"

_Breathe deeply, and do not throw the kid out of the moving car_, Eagle thought as he sighed.

"Please don't touch me!"

"I am not mad at you, Niles. I'm just stressed, and I _would never_ do what Matt did to you. Do you hear me? I'm sorry for snapping at you, but trust me when I say I would never hurt you," Eagle said calmly.

Monotaro nodded. "But M-M-Matt, he always said he would never hurt me right before..." Monotaro closed his eyes. "He would d-d-d- - do you want me to take any drugs now?" he asked. Eagle had sent him unknowingly into another flashback.

FLASHBACK

"_Comere hun," his mother slurred to him from the kitchen._

_Monotaro walked in and he saw his mother sorting out various pills and other equipment. He froze when he saw the needle._

"_Mark tells me- youuhh didn't give the right amount to him," she slurred again._

_He swallowed as he remembered Mark, one of the people he delivers drugs to. He was always bitching about how the stuff wasn't right. Of course Monotaro didn't know, his mother made them. But he wouldn't put it past her to mess up an order._

"_Mark 'ere, says you shorted 'im by the pound," his mother told him as she crushed some pills together. "Now...what you do with that?"_

"_I-I-I didn't t-take anything," he tried to reason with her._

_She shook her head, "Notuh, you did. I know it!"_

"_I-"_

"_Don't lies now," she said._

"_R-really though..I didn't-"_

_Her smile cut him off. "Of course you'd didn't. 'Cause I didn't give Mark all the pounds. Have it here...you want to share?"_

_Monotaro was about to refuse when his mother spoke up again. "Now, what did yer mother tell you'd 'bout sharin?"_

"_What, what about Natalie...where is she?" Monotaro asked as he looked around, not wanting his little sister to walk in on their mother like this. And if he had some too...it would not be good._

"_Hell if I'd know! She not home, now get over here!"_

_He sighed knowing she was safe for the time being. He then slowly walked across the kitchen and sat in the chair next to his mother. The smell of alcohol was strong on her breath._

"_Gimme your arm," she told him._

_He looked at her warily, not wanting to trust her. "It safe, now just hurry up. Stop being a baby 'bout it."_

_He rolled up his sleeve and she stabbed him with the needle. Telling him not to worry about the blood, that she got the vein. He pulled away, but by then, it was too late. She administered the drug into his arm, and less than two seconds later he was clawing at his hair to try to make the images stop._

_He ran to the bathroom, where he spent the rest of the day, listening to his mother's dull laugh._

_-end flashback-_

"Monotaro?" Eagle snapped, wondering where the kid's mind was. "You still there?"

"D-d-d-o you want me to take d-d-drugs? I'm sorry I made you mad..."

"No, why would I do that?"

"Well, what do you want then?" Monotaro wailed. He felt sick to his stomach. What new torture was Eagle going to impose? "I said I was sorry! I d-d-d-didn't mean to make you mad!"

"How about you tell me how to punish you," Eagle told him, not really going to do it.

Monotaro hung his head and sniffled with a, "Whatever works best for you, Sir."

"Well then what works best for me is nothing. Because believe it or not but I was an abused kid when I was younger. And I won't hurt you Niles...I don't know how many times I have to tell you to make it sti-"

Monotaro cut him off. "Abused kid? What do you mean by that?"

"Yes...I was abused...like you were, only the circumstances were a bit different," Eagle explained.

"So you were a slave too?" Monotaro asked.

Eagle groaned, it was hard enough to make up a past let alone answer questions about it. "No, I wasn't a slave. And neither are you. I adopted you, so essentially, you're free."

"Free... I'm free? How does that work?"

"Well... do you feel safe?"

"Yes?"

"And do you think you could accomplish almost anything you set your mind to? It's not a brain teaser. But most importantly, do you feel happy?"

Monotaro blinked twice. "Accomplish? What does that mean? Doesn't it have to do with drugs... right? And happy... ... I should get a dictionary..." Monotaro blushed and looked down at his feet. "Happy - I know... I can't remember!" he said as he looked at Nick.

"Accomplish has nothing to do with drugs. It means to complete something... does that make sense? And happy... gosh, kid, you picked a tough one. Happiness is what... makes you laugh... or say, I don't know, smile."

"Right... I know that I just couldn't remember. I guess... I have always wanted a life outside of drugs... Do you think I can have that?" Monotaro - no, _Niles_, not Monotaro - looked at Eagle hopefully. "And - because I am free... does that mean, my name can be Niles now?"

"If that's what you want your life to be like, I'm not stopping you. Just know I'm here to help. And yes, since you're free your name is always Niles," Eagle told him. "Now do you understand what being free means?"

"Not exactly... it means that you are my guardian now and not Matt... right? But I still have to obey some of what you say..." Niles nervously bit his nails.

"Yes, that is right... however, every kid has rules they need to follow. Just ask Cub when we get there. He should be able to tell you."

They drove the remainder of the way in silence.

It was when they were getting out of the car that Eagle thought Monotaro would flip out, coming back so close to home, but he didn't. "Cub!" he said. "You're okay!"

Cub looked put off. "Did you expect me not to be? Don't answer that," he added, glaring at Monotaro.

"Eagle says I should ask you about rules-"

It was then when there was a potshot heard in the distance. "Get the fuck inside!" Eagle yelled, seeing Matt. He shoved Monotaro closer to the door.

"What about you?"

"I'll be fine, don't worry about me-" The shot fired closer to the house this time. Eagle tackled Monotaro to the ground. He swore; he had lost sight of Cub, and where the hell was Wolf? Before he knew it, he was dragged off of Monotaro and pinned to the ground. Matt chuckled as he mercilessly brought the but of the gun down on his neck and grabbed Monotaro roughly.

"Let go of me you stupid psychopath!" Monotaro yelled, terrified, as Matt flung him to the ground. "You aren't my owner anymore! Nick is! LET ME GO!"

"You certainly need a new owner then if Nick lets you talk like that," Ben commented.

"I know, right?" Matt glanced up. "Come on, Monotaro, hey- the sonofabitch bit me!"

Matt let go of Monotaro, but Ben caught him again. Dragging him by his hair he roughly slapped him. "If you don't behave, I'll just kill you right here, right now."

Monotaro froze. "B-B-But N-Ni- s-s-said to f-f-fight if someone tried to t-t-take me. I'm sorry! I'm sorry," he said. He curled up into himself, allowing a tear to run down his cheek.

"What the hell are you doing?" Alex yelled as he ran over and tried to help Monotaro.

"Get out of here, Cub! Get Wolf!" Monotaro yelled. Despite having lived with Eagle for nearly a month, he trusted Wolf more.

"Oh, no you don't." With a quick, sudden move Matt swung a fist at Alex's stomach. Alex dropped to the ground, out cold.

"Alex!" Monotaro cried. "Let me go, Ben! I hate you and your fucking games-"

"This isn't a game, though," Ben told him. "Now if you don't shut the fuck up, then I'll knock you out too. So what will it be?"

"LET ME GO!" Monotaro wailed. Eagle had told him to fight back if he was ever taken and now Monotaro was doing just that. "I'm not listening to you! You aren't my owner! _NICK! Nick!"_

Ben groaned, "Oh my... This kid is so bitchy!" Ben grabbed Monotaro by the hair again and smacked his head against the trunk of their car. He stopped screaming so Ben let him fall to the ground.

* * *

Monotaro groaned back to consciousness and winced as he saw himself in the dark closet. "Cub?" he whispered. Oh, god he hurt. He hurt so bad. But he'd done what Nick asked him too! That was what he was supposed to do... right?

Matt opened the door. "Oh, Monotaro... Cub..." He ignored the standing Monotaro and walked over to Cub's bed. "Get the fuck up, slave. It's time for rules."

"Get the hell away..." Alex groaned. His stomach hurt really bad and he could only slightly remember what happened before he passed out. Well, really the only thing he needed to know was the man who caused it...and he was oh so conveniently standing in front of.

"Now come on, it's rule time. Don't you agree, Ben?" Matt asked, motioning to Ben to flip on the lights. "Ben, if you don't mind, I know you have them written."

"Here," Ben said as he randomly produced a list about a page long.

Matt took the paper from him and shoved it at Monotaro, "Read," he demanded.

Monotaro swallowed hard. "I-I- I don't know how." He sunk to the floor and managed to almost avoid the kick that went directly to his ribs. Monotaro knew how to read some but only knew how to make out words related to drugs. "I'm s-s-sorry s-s-s-ir... Nick wouldn't let me read..." he felt bad blaming it on Nick but needed an excuse.

"Blame Matt," Cub retorted, rolling off his bed. "That sounds like more fun. Why don't you read it and I'll tell you the ones I feel like obeying?"

"Do you want to be knocked out again?" Ben asked smoothly, really considering it. Too bad he'd have to file that in his MI6 report if he did it.

"Please don't hurt him. I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I didn't mean to talk," Monotaro said hastily as he looked at Matt.

"Now Ben, why don't you read the rules for these worthless mutts so we can throw them in with the general population and be done with them?" Matt asked. "I don't have all day. We still need to track down Wolf. I know you want your _bed buddy _and _boyfriend _back and I might give him a good run too."

"As much as I would appreciate that," Ben commented, "Leave Wolf to me, I can keep him in line. Now as for the rules. Rule one: Don't communicate with the other slaves. Doesn't matter who started the conversation, we will end it, and punish both of you. Rule two: Since you two obviously can't shut up, then while we are in public you aren't allowed to talk. At all, you both will be labeled as 'mute' for the time being. Rule three: -"

"I'm not mute!" Alex cried, leaping up. "That's just - _no_ I will _not_ listen to your insanity!"

"Shut up," Matt responded. He pressed a button and Alex fell to the floor, gasping. "I took the liberty of placing a collar on your leg like I did Wolf's. Continue on, Ben."

"Right...number three: You both are required to complete the maid's jobs. If they are not done, then one of you will be punished, if not both - no excuses. Number four: You two have obviously eaten whatever you wanted to in the time we have been separated. So you both will have two meals a day, and with those you will take the new regular dosage of medication -"

"You mean drugs!" Alex corrected him.

"That reminds me. Hold out your hand, Cub, or I'll have a private conversation with Monotaro. It's drug time." Matt smirked as he pulled a package from his pocket.

Alex wearily looked at Monotaro, but he wasn't giving him any signs so he sighed and slowly stuck his hand out.

"Take it," Matt ordered. "Oh, and that's another rule. If Cub resists I'll punish Monotaro and vise-versa. I hate to do this but you obviously only seem to listen when the other is threatened." He smiled with an evil grin.

Monotaro wearily held out his hand for his medication and swallowed it.

"Now, Ben... Continue on?"

"Yes, as I was saying...the next ten rules are on the same topic, so I will condense them: No escaping, as simple as that. If you try to escape, the other will pay for it. If you succeed - which is highly unlikely - we will punish the other and hunt you down. As you have seen from experience, Monotaro, it is very challenging to get away from Matt. And considering that he has caught you...what is it now, -"

"B-But I d-didn't r-r-run away. N-N-Nick bought me!" Monotaro looked close to tears.

"Sure he did," Ben said as he continued. "Eight times now, and they have all ended up back in the hands of Matt." He felt bad for terrorizing the kid, but he had to stay close to Matt, especially now that he had the kids. And the only way to do that was to terrorize them.

"B-B-but Matt _told_ me to go with him! And N-N-Nick..." Monotaro gave in and allowed the tears to roll down his face as he hugged his legs. "I... I'll just kill myself and be done with it, dammit!" he said, surprising everyone as he stalked in front of Matt and walked towards the door.

"Get the hell back here!" Matt swore as he grabbed Monotaro by the arm and dragged him down to the floor. "Oh, yeah, what about that rule that suicide counts as escaping, Ben?"

"Ahh, yes, I did forget that one. So you see Monotaro, if you kill yourself, then Cub here will be punished. Is that what you want? If so then by all means -"

"Monotaro don't!" Alex yelled. "It's not worth taking your life over. Remember what Wolf said? We will get through this together."

Monotaro nodded as he leaned back against the wall and hugged his legs.

Ben felt a pang go through his heart for the two kids. They _had_ to get them out of this mess.

* * *

Challenges:

Did Matt really sell Monotaro to Eagle, and take back his word, or did he just lend him?

What will happen now?

When will Matt catch on that Eagle is SAS?

Will Ben be able to maintain his cover?

**Remember, while we will never hold a story hostage, 16 reviews does mean an early update. When this happens, we'll hand out the sneak peaks the day we hit 16 reviews** and update the next day. Additionally, if you leave a review as guest and are not signed in, but have an account with the same name, we will send a sneak peak to that account unless you mention other wise. Leaving you biting your nails because you got a sneak peak is important to us! (Insert smiley face here).


	21. No Idea What's True At All

A/N: As I (Writer With Sprite) post this in my dress outfit, I ask you to wish both me and Torn Apart Paper Dinosaur luck on our interviews today! We're posting this as a gift, because we got 16 reviews last chapter and we promised we'd post early. Have a great day you guys and ladies!

* * *

"Maybe we should separate them," Matt remarked to Ben as he glanced at the two. "Or put them in private rooms or something. Clearly they aren't ready to mix with the general population just yet, we'd better train them first."

"I agree. They would obviously start yelling out absurd remarks about escaping and breaking rules, and we cannot have that. I say give them one week, if they aren't trained by then, you have free reign to do as you please with them."

Monotaro's heart stopped. "No... Please... I'm sorry..." He began to cry in earnest this time. "N-Nick... I'm s-s-sorry..." A tear rolled down his cheek as he huddled against the corner of the room.

"So... do you want to punish Cub or Monotaro first?" Matt asked, an evil grin on his face. "Punishment is all yours, go ahead."

Ben bit his lip and thought for a minute. Deciding Matt was less likely to hurt Alex because Ben now owned him, he snapped a brisk, "Monotaro, come with me," and walked out of the room.

Monotaro swallowed and glanced at Alex before walking out at the door. When the two were alone in the room Monotaro started. "My name is _Niles_. Not _Monotaro_. I am Nick's son legally. He adopted me. I'm not a slave anymore. You aren't my owner. That's what Nick told me to tell you when I saw you again."

At least he wouldn't be punished by Nick when he got back. Or at least he hoped he would get back.

Ben smirked before he then punched him in the gut. As Monotaro cried out in shock, he slapped him. "Now you listen here, _Monotaro-"_

"Niles! That's what Nick said and he's my owner right?" Monotaro asked as he curled up into himself. He didn't know what to do.

"No, actually you're wrong. You see Matt is your owner. After all, your own mother sold you to him."

Monotaro allowed another tear to slip down his cheek. "B-ut... he s-sold me to Nick..."

"No, he just lent you out to him, to earn more money. Same goes with Cub, you are both still under the names of Matt. Therefore you both belong to him. Now _Monotaro_ I will let that little outburst slide if you can recite all of the rules I just told you."

"A-al of t-hem?"

"First of all you can't read, are you deaf now too? Yes all of them!" he snapped. "Be quick about it too, I'm loosing losing my patience...And if you're not fast enough I will take each extra minute out on you, one minute for one blow...and as for Cub...double your hits."

Monotaro swallowed hard as he tried to remember all the rules quickly, not wanting Cub to be punished for his mistake.

"Rule n-n-number one..." he had a tear slip down his cheek. "D-d-do not communicate with other slaves. What about Cub, sir?"

"Only if we don't hear your mouth. What about rule number two?"

"I-I... I don't remember!" Monotaro said, frantically thinking. "Please tell it to me again! I forget!"

"Maybe I should give you some time to think by yourself, in private...follow me," Ben commanded as he walked out of the room.

""I'm sorry I'm sorry I'm sorry sir!" Monotaro pleaded. "_LET GO _of my arm! OW! And Nick said he legally adopted me..."

"We've been over this," Ben told him as he flung him in the back of the closet. "Now you just sit tight and think about who your real owner is, and those other rules. I will be back shortly...if I remember you." Ben closed the door, concealing Monotaro in darkness, and locked the closet shut.

_Nick, come find me... please_. That was Monotaro's last thought before he passed out.

It was a full two to three days before Alex was allowed to see Monotaro again. To his surprise, Monotaro looked more pissed than anything else about being in the closet. Alex was relieved; he had been worried that Monotaro would withdraw back into himself just as he had before.

Right now, though, it was Alex who was in trouble.

"You mean Matt _broke your leg_?" Monotaro asked as he dropped onto his bed, exhausted. They had been kept in the closet for what felt like 24 hours, and had then been forced to work for 36 hours on the drug room - separately, of course.

"No, I fell down the stairs," Alex deadpanned. "Which obviously means I can't just walk out the door... or be dragged," he added as he saw Monotaro's brain working. "You have to find some way to get out of here, and find...Wolf I suppose."

"Right," Monotaro remarked, clearly unconvinced. He lowered his voice. "Alex, I can't do that! I've tried to run away eight times now and every time he's dragged me back! He already threatened to 'rape' me again - whatever that means - if I even thought about it!"

Alex sighed. "I really can't think of another way to contact Wolf...and I don't want to put your sanity on the line."

"Whatever that means... Right. I need to read more, I know," Monotaro said at Alex's weary look. "But how could I even get out of here?"

"I thought you would know...After all you've been here longer than I have so..." Alex let his voice trail off.

"I haven't been here though," Monotaro whispered. "I don't know where we are but he moved us. We are nowhere near where we used to be."

"Great," Alex told him. "When did you usually break out? Night, day...in public?"

"Public... I know that word," Monotaro whispered. He slumped up against the wall. "Where do I know that word?"

"You're joking, right?" Alex smiled.

"N-N-No - sorry-" Monotaro said as he winced and ducked, ready to avoid Alex's swing. He didn't have too though; Alex never raised his hand. "Is this a quiz?"

Alex looked at him, before sighing, knowing the confused look upon his face told that he had no clue. "No Monotaro, this isn't a quiz... just a conversation about an upcoming escape. Public... it means when you are surrounded by a lot of people, preferably in the day."

"Is that a good thing?" Monotaro asked. At Alex's wince, he elaborated. "I am sorry, Alex. I have only had up to a fifth-grade education. Then my mother pulled me out to run drugs and shortly after that Matt bought me. I don't know much, I'm stupid, I'm sorry."

"You're not stupid, Monotaro. You understand me? Matt's the one that's stupid... and I suppose your mother too. But you are far from stupid, you just need another chance at education. Which will happen as soon as we are free."

Monotaro glanced at Alex. "Matt always told me I was too stupid to return to school..." He let out a shaky breath. "He owns me, I can't escape, he says that's the new l-l-aw." Monotaro gave a faded piece of paper to Alex.

Alex looked at the piece of paper and bit his tongue to keep from yelling. The paper was a certificate, a legalized document stating that Monotaro did in fact belong to Matt. He wanted to punch him in the face. He set the paper down and struggled to get up. Monotaro helped him up.

"What are you doing?"

"I'm going to strangle Matt, would you like to watch?"

"No, Alex! You can't! He'll beat you, especially with your leg. What's wrong? And besides Matt would say you could strangle me instead."

"I would never strangle you... order or not. And... that paper is legit. Signed by some idiot government official. Likely bribed into signing it, but it's there nonetheless... Matt owns you Monotaro... by law, and there is nothing Wolf, Eagle, or I can do about it. I'm sorry."

"No," Monotaro gasped, as if he had no hope. "But Eagle... Eagle said he adopted me! He said..." tears rolled down Monotaro's face. "I thought... Wolf said... slavery's not legal... I'm not property... I'm _not_ property..."

Alex hugged him to the best of his ability and didn't fall over. "I know Monotaro. We all know that, that you're not a slave... or property. But Matt says so, and he has the papers to prove it. Just know that Eagle didn't lie to you. He probably did adopt you, in some loop hole, surpassed Matt's idiotic law. But since Matt got to you first, he technically owns you..."

"But... but... but... so if I try and run away... I can't..." Monotaro sniffled. "I can't... I can't... I can't!" He hugged his legs. "That means that he can t-touch me?" he asked, sniffling. "And w-wait, if Eagle ad-d-d-dopted me..." Tears ran own his face. "What do you mean tec-c-chnically?"

"You need to go to Eagle, anyway you can and show him this document. Since he 'adopted' you, he may have some say in what to do next. And possibly revoke it before Matt even notices that it went missing."

"But how do I-" Monotaro quickly shoved the paper in his pocket as Matt came in the room. He grinned, rubbing his hand through Cub's hair. "Got a present for you, Brat."

"I think I'll turn down that offer, it was sweet of you, but I didn't get you anything. Dang," Alex told Matt.

"Oh, that's all right, I'll just use you in the drug room some more. And you have to have the present, I insist. How's your leg?" Matt tossed the letter towards Cub and kicked him roughly in the leg - the same one he'd broken.

Alex grunted in pain and felt tears pricking out and slowly rolling down his cheek. "What could you possibly want to give me?" he said as he took a breath and grabbed the letter.

"Oh, lots of things. Read it out loud, Cub," Matt snapped as he kicked his leg again.

"Oh my!" Alex grasped his leg and shifted away from Matt as he opened the letter. He quickly scanned it over, and he scowled before scanning it again. "No. Fucking. Way!"

"Come on Alex _dear_, Monotaro and I both want to know the wording."

"There is no fucking way that Ben owns me now! I want to talk to him, now!"

"Actually, Ben does own you now. You were my gift to him when I inherited you from Jeff," Matt said. "Read the wording now before I break Monotaro's leg."

"Don't, don't do that...I'll read it. Just calm down for a second..." Alex breathed, before he started reading, "It would be my pleasure to inform one: Benjamin Tanner, that you now own, by the government law: Alex Rider."

"How do you like _that_ present?" Matt said. "I own Monotaro; Ben owns you. Oh, and he says he isn't happy about your leg."

"You d-d-d-on't own me," Monotaro said as he stood up. "Nick owns me, he adopted me, so I'm sorry but you don't own me anymore, this is lies!" He took his paper and tore it in half before shoving it in Matt's face. "Fuck this shit!"

With that, he stomped out the door, slamming it shut.

"Get back here, Monotaro!" Matt warned. He drew his gun and pointed it at Cub. "You sit right there or I will break both of your legs, and Monotaro's too."

Alex glared at him, not wanting his mistake to be the cost on Monotaro. Matt pulled out handcuffs and cuffed one of Alex's hands to the bed frame. Matt then stalked after Monotaro and Alex heard yelling, and quite a few choice words in between. He tugged on the handcuff, but he couldn't get free... he only hoped that Monotaro could.

Monotaro slammed the front door and took off down the street. He had no choice now, he had to get away. The paper he had ripped up had only been a copy of the document; he carried the original with him too. Matt said it was "necessary" for when he went to run drugs.

He swallowed hard before swearing, "Dammit!"

It was only then that he remembered he had his cell phone with Eagle's number programmed in it. He frowned, not remembering having it before. What he didn't know was that Ben had slipped it in his pocket that day he'd let him out of the closet.

That being said, that didn't mean Monotaro could stop to use it. Right now he had to get a good distance between him and Ben-then he could call Nick.

* * *

Matt stormed back into the room, having been unsuccessful in his trip to catch Monotaro. "You _made _him escape!" he said to Alex. He unhandcuffed the boy quickly. "You're coming with me. We'll have to see where we can bury your damn body."

Alex shook his head as Ben came around the corner. "Go get Monotaro, I'll take care of Alex." He shot Alex a threatening look.

With that, Matt was out the door in the car. He scanned the nearby area and had driven for nearly thirty minutes before he finally found the son-of-a-bitch. He flung open the door of the car and grabbed Monotaro by his shirt. "What the _fuck_ do you think you're doing, bitch? Don't you get that I fucking own you?"

"Get your hands off me you scumbag," Monotaro yelled.

Matt grabbed him and leaned next to his ear. "Either you come with me or I use Cub as a fuck toy right now. What will it be?"

"No, you can't!" Monotaro cried.

"I can and I will if you don't get your ass in the car, and even then I still might," Matt threatened. "Get in the car, now, dammit!"

"You-you promise you won't hurt Cub?" he asked as he got in the car.

Matt shrugged. "I'll hurt you instead," he offered as he locked the doors and ran his hand through Monotaro's hair. "You wanna take Cub's place as my toy?"

Monotaro flinched and thought about the outcome of this decision. He stayed silent until they arrived at a stop light. Matt was getting impatient.

"I shouldn't have sold you to Nick. He's way too light on the punishments. Trust me when I say I will fix that when I get home," Matt warned. "You got that?"

"Yes, sir," he added for good measure before he gasped and pointed off to his left, almost smacking Matt in the face. "What is that?"

"The sound of your ass against my whipping belt when we get home," Matt growled but looked anyway.

Monotaro quickly unlocked his door threw it open and sprinted down the street.

"Get the hell back here, boy!"

"You have to catch me first!" he responded as he rounded the corner.

Matt swore and quickly parked. "Get the fuck back here before I beat your ass!"

Monotaro swore and picked up his pace as Matt chased him. He really should have exercised more.

"Get back here dammit! I swear to god I'm gonna beat you when you get home!" With that, he grabbed Monotaro by the shoulder and slapped him in the face.

"Hey, get off of that kid," a police officer ordered, pointing his gun directly at the two. "Get off of him now."

Monotaro's breath hitched as Matt roughly grabbed the back of his neck.

"Let him go now. I know who you are, and you're under arrest. If you don't let go I'm going to shoot."

"I own Monotaro, I can do whatever the hell I please," Matt informed the police officer. "Isn't that right Monotaro? Tell the nice officer just _how_ I own you." He grabbed Monotaro's arm and yanked it hard behind Monotaro's back, causing the teen to cry out.

"This fucking scumbag doesn't own shit. He's lying-"

"I _own_ you Monotaro. Flesh and soul. Remember that," With that Matt shoved Monotaro to the ground and fired at Joe.

Joe opened fire back, hitting Matt squarely in the arm. "Female backup needed at stop 282 as well as male backup for a suspect." Matt was quickly cuffed and stored in the back of a squad car. "Are you okay, kid?" He knew who the kid and Matt were; he had been watching the tapes in Matt's house for a few weeks now.

"I-I'm fine... are you alright?"

"You're not fine, you're bleeding, don't worry about me." Joe moved towards the kid's arm. "Here, let me see that scrape," he said as the female backup arrived.

"Really, though, I'm fine. You even said it yourself, it's a scratch," Monotaro told him as he jerked his arm away.

"I said that _I'm _fine, I wasn't the one shot by a bullet, kid. I need to see it so I can treat it, I'm not going to hurt it."

"I wasn't shot, just...grazed."

Joe thought through the videos he had seen at Matt's house before realizing something. Monotaro was one of the kids that Matt had owned as a slave who Wolf had been talking too! Maybe Wolf would know something about the case. Joe quickly explained the situation to his backup, had the other officers take Matt away, and came back to where the kid was still sitting. "Do you know someone named Wolf?"

"Where is he?"

"We will have to get you fixed up first, then I will take you too him. Does that sound like a plan?" Joe asked, concerned as to what the answer would be.

"It sounds like blackmail," Monotaro grumbled but hesitantly got up. He reluctantly followed Joe into the police car. "How do you know him as Wolf?"

"I can assure you that no blackmail is involved. As to how I know Wolf...well, I'll let him tell you the details if he wants, but the basics are he was in some domestic violence case that I got assigned to."

"Domestic violence?" Monotaro questioned. "What's that? And why is Wolf involved in it? I thought... never mind, I'm not supposed to ask questions, Sir."

Joe sighed, _Yeah, the kid was definitely linked to that domestic violence case... but how? _"I'm not Sir, just Joe. And domestic violence is when someone is beaten within the confines of a relationship," Joe explained.

Monotaro didn't know what confines meant but nodded. "Right... Confines. Got it," he lied. "So how is Wolf being... is he being charged with domestic violence?"

"No, no, no.." Joe told him, _this kid doesn't even have a clue... _"Do you know what 'confines' means?"

"Yes... It means... It means... Being confined to a house. Wolf is being confined to a house. Right?"

"Hmm, Monotaro, right? You do realize that lying to a police officer is a federal offense. Now would you like to try that again?"

Monotaro closed his eyes and flashed back.

"_Now remember Monotaro - you better keep your story damn straight - because if you don't... I'll kick your ass and have you arrested. Got it?" Matt growled. "Lying to a federal officer is an offense."_

"It means... It means... I don't know!" Monotaro said. Fear swelled up in his chest. "I'm sorry for lying! I thought I knew!"

_Ah, shit._ Joe cursed, "Calm down kid, I knew you weren't lying. Just breathe and take a seat over here." Joe led him to the curb and seat him down, while he took a seat next to him. "I'm sorry for accusing you, I thought you knew what it meant. You're not in trouble or anything. But confines means violence within a relationship, and Wolf was on the blunt end of that treatment."

"Wolf was... hurt? Okay... who is he in a relationship with?" Monotaro had been separate from the pair for a few weeks and had no idea who Wolf had been supposedly dating.

"His name is Ben Daniels...you were really out of the loop, weren't you?" Joe asked, thinking Monotaro was just another clueless teen that didn't pay attention to his surroundings.

Monotaro winced. "Yes, Sir. I'm sorry, Sir." Sometimes that worked to pacify Matt. Other times it didn't, like Wolf for instance. "Wolf's name is Ben Daniels? I thought Wolf's name was James."

"Yes, Wolf's name is James, but his partner's name is Ben Daniels," Joe explained.

Monotaro nodded and a question came to mind. "Is Wolf still a slave? Sir?" He may as well make the most of being not beaten for asking questions.

"Nope, he's not a slave. Never was; just a bad case of abuse. He's the father of Alex," Joe said, not expecting to get a reaction out of the boy.

Monotaro breathed a sigh of relief. "So... Is Alex free now too then? What about me? Am I your slave now? Sir? Or can I go back to Nick?"

"Alex is... free, I guess. Yes, he is, but I'm in charge of you until you get your hand checked out... Who is Nick? If he's a relative, of guardian than you can go with him after you talk to Wolf, he really wants to see you."

"Yes, Sir." Monotaro's shoulders slumped. He guessed he would be Joe's slave now. At least Wolf and Alex were free. "Nick is my guardian, but if he says you're my owner then I have to listen to you." A tear ran down Monotaro's cheek, one that Joe didn't miss.

Joe smacked his forehead, "Kid... I meant that you're going to stick with me until we get to Wolf. And you are not going to be permitted to see Nick. I don't care what you say, or he says. You are to stay with Wolf, understand?"

Monotaro's shoulders slumped even further. He nodded. "Yes, Sir. Whatever you think is best, Sir."

Joe nodded, not seeing anything wrong, "That's good. Now let's get your hand bandaged, then we can go see Wolf."

Sniffling, Monotaro nodded as he strapped the seat belt in. Joe had taken care of his hand and they were now good to go. Monotaro couldn't help but think of Nick, who had taken care of him more than any other parent had. "Sir... why can't I go with Nick?" he asked, allowing a tear to run down his cheek.

Joe sighed as he drove. "I don't want to explain it all, but the short version is that you're not safe with Nick. No doubt what Matt did to you, he will finish off."

Monotaro froze. _No, no, no, no, no, no, no no_. "I need... I need my inhaler," he said, grabbing his backpack frantically as he searched through it. He moved towards the bottom of the bag and took a puff. He would have to talk to Wolf when they got there. "So... did Nick sell me to you?" he asked. "Nick said he legally adopted me and was going to keep me forever and that he _wasn't_ going to make me go back to Matt! Matt kidnapped me! Wait, are you working with Matt?"

"No, I'm not working for Matt. And I can't say for sure that Nick would keep you, or if he even adopted you. But he didn't sell you to me."

Monotaro nodded. A tear rolled down his cheek again. And then another one, and soon a whole torrent of tears went down his face. "No!" he cried. He grabbed his bag, unbuckled his seatbelt and bolted from the door.

"Dammit!" Joe slammed on the breaks, threw the car in park, and ran after Monotaro.

* * *

"Let me GO!" Alex pulled against Ben's shoulder as Ben attempted to drag him out the door. "I'm _NOT_ going ANYWHERE with you! You don't fucking own me!"

"I have the paperwork, so I do in fact own you. Quit your whining and shut up."

"Whining? _Whining_? Matt broke my damn leg!" Alex snapped, gesturing at the leg. "OW! That _hurts_ me. HELP!" he screamed as soon as Ben got him outside. "LET ME GO! Let me go!"

Ben slapped a hand over Alex's mouth, silencing his outbursts, "I swear, Cub, if you don't shut the hell up, then you will be punished. And as soon as Matt comes back, I will punish Monotaro myself. Now, are you going to behave?"

"You can't do that," Alex said, whispering. Ben was still a good guy, right? "What about-"

Ben roughly slapped him, and Alex stumbled back. He tripped and fell into the arms of someone.

"Let me _go_!" Alex said, attempting to pull away from the man who had suddenly appeared. "Wolf is my Dad, not you, you sick son of a bi-"

"Stop yelling! Now what's going on here?" a police officer asked as he held onto Alex's arm.

Alex opened his mouth to speak, but he was cut off by the officer, who glared at him. "Not you, I was asking him."

Ben also glared at Alex before clearing his throat and answering the question. "Well, you see here officer, my slave was trying to get away. And with all of his yelling, it was really a chance that you showed up and stopped this little tantrum."

"I'm not your slave!" Alex retorted, stepping on Ben's foot in an attempt to get free. Somehow he had been shoved back by Ben, who had latched onto his arm firmly. "Slavery is against the law-"

"Actually if he has the papers, it is completely legal," the officer told him, then looked at Ben. "Is this whore new? He has quite the mouth on him, don't he?"

"Unfortunately, not new enough to display this behavior... He should know better, right Cub?" Ben asked as he tightened his grip.

"You're NOT my father!" Alex screamed, seeing someone walk by. "James is my father. Let me _go!"_

The other person saw the police officer, shrugged, and slammed the door to their house.

"Would you like to take this somewhere private?"

"_YOU CAN'T DO ANYTHING TO ME!" _Alex screamed again, seeing yet another person giving him a leery look. "JAMES IS MY FATHER! NOT THIS.. this... _JERK!"_

"This is all under control, no need to worry," the officer told the people walking by. "He's bipolar and in the manic stage, so I would step back if I were you."

"You should step back from the _officer_," Alex growled as he resisted Ben's grip. The other two - the last two getting off the bus - walked away. "You're fucking insane if you think I'm getting in that car with you, you sorry son..."

"If you finish that sentence, I will kill you," Ben deadpanned as he started to drag Alex, following the officer to his police car.

Alex hung his head and allowed himself to be handcuffed. "Where are we going? OW! My leg hurts! Don't kick it!"

The officer grunted in reply and took Alex's head and rammed it into the top of the car, before throwing him in. "Now your head hurts too," he said as he slammed the door shut and looked at Ben. "Hope you don't mind, I have a slave of my own, and he is exactly like that."

Ben shook his head, "Not at all, he needed it. Shall we get going then?"

"Hop in." The officer started the engine, and pulled out. It wasn't long before Alex started cursing at the both of them, so he turned on the siren to drown out the noise.

Finally, Alex slumped against the back of the seat, exhausted. Clearly this officer had no heart. "Where the fuck are we going?" he demanded.

"Where else would I take someone who threatened an officer, and hit his father?"

"He's _NOT_ my father!" Alex said angrily as they pulled into the parking lot. He remained quiet until the door opened, where he began to resist against the officer. "LET ME GO! JAMES IS MY FATHER, NOT BEN! HELP! _HELP!"_

Ben groaned as he helped the officer drag Alex in the police station. Ignoring odd glances, the officer just explained that this kid was under arrest for assaulting him, and his father. They finally got to a room, where they threw Alex in to let him cool off.

* * *

Challenges:

Will Joe let Niles go back to Eagle?

What will happen to Alex? Where are Wolf and Eagle? Wolf is sure staying hidden, isn't he?

Do you still think Joe is good? What about Ben?

Do you think Matt really is able to "surpass the law" and take people slaves?

*Disclaimer: Slavery is not legal in any part of the US or the UK. At least not legally. So don't get any ideas... K?

(Seventeen reviews gets an early update! Since 36 people have this on favorites, that shouldn't be too hard... Right? Even a "good job" counts!)


	22. Bullet Wounds and Faked Deaths

_A/N: This scene may be unlike what actually happens in British police officer scenes, however, because Matt does own police in the local police department, it's going to be different-just a friendly warning. Also, someone pointed out that as a police officer in Britain, Joe wouldn't have a gun on him. I did decide to give him the gun - not to break Britian's rules - but because he was being followed by Matt - and this way he could "protect" himself. Not sure if that's cannon, but this department as you'll see is loose anyway and breaking *cough cough* a few rules._

_Since we did get 17 reviews, I decided to go ahead and update Saturday. :)_

* * *

Joe sighed as he walked through the office. Monotaro was following him half heartedly, not really sure about what was going on. "Hey, who is the kid in Room Three?" Joe asked. That was the room he had planned on using for Monotar -

"Who is the kid in room _THREE_?" Joe demanded angrily. Ben had since left, going to get something out of his car. "Jonah, explain yourself, dammit!" Monotaro shied away - police officers were scary when they were angry!

"Relax, Joe," Jonah said. "Don't freak out on me, this kid here is under arrest for assaulting me and his father. He was screaming so we put him in there for a few minutes to cool off... Who's this?" he asked, referring to Monotaro.

"His _FATHER_?" Joe bellowed, ignoring the fact that he startled the entire police station just as he ignored Jonah's statement. "Show me this father! This kid was kidnapped from his biological father three days ago! Do you not pay attention to any of the memos passed around the office?"

"Obviously you didn't get the memo about slave ownership. Ben owns this kid, therefore his biological father has no right to take him back."

"Slave ownership?" Joe cried. "What are you, high?" he saw the people looking around. "Monotaro, you go in that room with Alex. I'll be right there. Jonah, you're with me," he demanded. The two walked into another room and closed the door. Joe breathed a silent sigh of relief as Niles walked into the other room.

"What the fuck slave ownership are you talking about?" Joe bellowed. "That kid is under eighteen. His biological father is his father until then, after that he gets to make his own living decisions. His father wants him back. This ownership is bullshit," Joe said, crossing his arms and waiting for an explanation.

"Well since you don't own a slave, I'll fill you in on the details," Jonah said with a smirk. "It's just like an adoption, it's as easy as that, except with less paperwork. You pick up the kid, and then you have a slave. You should really try it sometime."

"'Try it sometime?'" Joe demanded. "You make it sound like a drug, and slavery is against the law. Look, if someone was over eighteen and wanted to be owned, what-the-fuck-ever. But Cub is under eighteen, and is under legal custody of his father. .Show me your 'document,'" he retorted.

"You'd think I'd be stupid enough to carry that thing around with me? Hell no, but I'm sure Ben has the document, you can ask him when he gets back. That piece of paper has all the facts that you need, not to mention the government's document. So it is not against the law, if you know where to go. And who was that Monotaro... that sounds like a slave name... are you holding out on me?"

"His name is Niles, but he seems to be more relaxed when I call him Monotaro." Joe flipped open his phone and hit three buttons. "Pete, get down here. I need you." He hung it up and glared at Jonah. "Do you know of someone by the name of Wolf?"

"No, but that brat was screaming something about it, why?"

Joe slammed his phone on the desk. "Dammit, this isn't about domestic violence after all. Hi, Pete," he said, greeting his supervisor as he got in. "Did you know that Jonah owns a slave?"

"A slave?" Pete asked, blinking in surprise. "Does this have anything to do with the two kids in Room Three that Theresa is supervising?"

"Yes, that seems to be a big part of all of this," Joe told him.

"What is 'this' anyway?" Jonah asked him.

"The fact where you said Alex is a slave. Humans aren't slaves, Jonah! Did you forget that somewhere along the way? Especially not under eighteen year old kids! I'm a good friend with Alex's biological father - I helped rescue him from a domestic violence situation, and then he had his kid kidnapped. Did you have something to do with that?"

"No, but I should have. That kid needs to learn to respect his elders, _especially if he's under eighteen._"

"Whoa, hold on here, you two. Clearly I'm feeling left out. Joe, I remember you mentioning Wolf - he was the one who was in the abusive relationship with Ben, right? We determined that Ben was the one who kidnapped Alex, then? We need to get an APB on him-" he was interrupted by Jonah.

Jonah started laughing, "Wait, so this Wolf guy, was in a relationship with Ben? Who _owns _Alex, or Cub, and Wolf is the actual father? Oh, that's rich."

Pete shared a glance with Joe. "Yes, Wolf is Cub's biological father. So... question for you. What do you mean by owns, exactly? Slavery is illegal - even if a letter is signed off by an official."

"Like I said, you have to know the right people. Clearly you don't, otherwise you would have snatched up Monotaro a while ago... is he taken by chance?"

Suddenly, it hit Joe why Monotaro wanted to go back to Nick. If Nick had adopted him - and he had been previously owned as a slave - perhaps Nick had _rescued_ Monotaro. That would explain the freak out. "Taken? Jonah, he's fourteen years old!" Pete exploded. "That's it. You and I are having a nice little discussion-"

"Jonah, _Niles_, not Monotaro, is actually adopted. Neither he nor Alex are slaves." Joe crossed his arms and waited for an answer, glancing at Pete. Jonah clearly didn't realize that he was being interrogated.

"Do you guys not understand the term of _owned?_ Once you're a slave no matter your age, you're a slave for life. It's how it works. Now Ben is Cub's owner, and he will come back to collect him. Monotaro on the other hand, probably ran away. From the looks of things it seems as if he's been in the system longer. At least he knows his place, and whether he has an owner or not, it doesn't matter. He could be on the black market pretty fast."

Pete looked at Joe. "Wolf knows that you'll call him when we find Cub, right?"

Jonah nodded. "Yup. Already called him. He should be coming in about... now." He glanced at the door. He had called Wolf before his interruption from Jonah.

"James, in here," he called, opening the door. They were just before the interrogation room.

"You have news of Alex?" Wolf asked, playing the part of the worried, anxious father. He blanched as he saw Jonah. "Oh, shit," he breathed, staring at Jonah. "You're Matt's partner, aren't you? You're Ben's drug buyer. I recognize you from when you beat Cub, you sorry piece of shit, going and calling me a damn-"

"That fucking fag had it coming to him. If I would have made the connection between him and you, I would have broken something. And that would have been letting him off easy," Jonah told him.

"Hey! That _fucking fag_, as you put it, is my son!" Wolf responded, furious. He turned towards Joe. "Did you bring me in here just to be tormented by him? Are you on Ben's side or something?"

"Whoa, hang on -" Joe started, only to be interrupted by Jonah.

"Which is exactly why he's a _fucking fag_. He's the son of a faggot!"

"My sexual preferences have nothing to do with this," Wolf snapped. "Besides, if you read the damn case file, you'd know I wasn't in consensual relationship with Ben."

Pete glanced at Joe. They would, at the very least, have to suspend Jonah. They did not expect Jonah's next move.

"Your sexual preference has everything to do with this. Now is a faggot and a slave, have you asked your son what it feels like to be a failure?"

"My sexual preference is none of your concern-" Wolf started, then sighed. "Look, Alex is my son. He's not your slave, nor is he Matt's slave, nor Ben's slave. Right Joe?" he asked, looking to Joe for backup.

"Wolf is right. Alex is not a slave, no matter what paper work Ben seems to have. A piece of paper is nothing compared to genetics."

"See?" Wolf told Jonah, satisfied. "Now I want to see Alex-" he was interrupted by Jonah.

"You don't get to see Alex because he assaulted me!" Jonah shouted as he punched Wolf. "And that is payment for it. You're coming with me now."

"No, I'm not," Wolf responded as he rubbed his cheek. "Let go of my arm!"

"Let's just all calm down for a second, and move out of this hallway. We're attracting unnecessary attention," Pete said as he lead them to Interview Room Three.

"Dad!" Alex said, bolting out of his seat and embracing Wolf. _He never thought that he would say that before._

"Wolf?" Monotaro asked, looking relieved. He wanted to ask about Nick but didn't dare.

"See, he is my _son_, not a slave," Wolf said. His gaze told Cub to sit down at the table, which Cub did. "Got that, you sick bastard?"

"I'm not the sick bastard!" Jonah yelled before lunging at Wolf. "You are, if you sold your kid into slavery."

"I didn't sell my kid into slavery! Ben did because he wanted to trap me-" Wolf felt himself being shoved up against the wall.

Jonah punched him in the face, cursing at him before he got thrown back by Joe. Pete interrupted the whole dispute. "You two need to calm down, otherwise you _both_ will be arrested! Is that understood?"

Wolf hung his head, debating on what to say. "Yes, sir. Never mind the fact that he attacked _my son_. Isn't there some law that officers can't just randomly assault others?"

"We will deal with that later I can assure you that much," Joe said.

"And until then this SOB is just allowed to remain on the force? You do realize he almost fractured Alex's arm, right?" Wolf demanded. "He punched me in front of you! I'm pressing charges," he added.

"I could have you arrested for back talking to an officer!" Jonah added.

They then got into a heated discussion, and threats of arresting one another were made.

"Stop this ridiculous fighting, it's obviously getting nowhere!" Monotaro yelled, but went quiet and blushed as everyone stared at him.

"We will be discussing your disciplinary actions later, Jonah," Pete warned. "Now, Wolf -"

"Wolf didn't do anything wrong," Monotaro told Pete. "If anyone should be arrested it should be Jonah, he..." he stopped himself from saying more.

Suddenly all eyes were on Monotaro. "Niles, right? What did Jonah do?" Joe asked, now extremely interested.

"Noth-nothing happened..." Monotaro mumbled.

"You sound like you have a question," Pete said, sitting down in the chair.

"Well, can... can a police officer be arrested for... for... hurting a person?"

"He's _supposed_ to be," Wolf said, glaring at Jonah.

"Yes, they can be," Pete replied. "Is there something you want to share with us, Niles? Did a police officer hurt you?"

"Jonah beat me after I ran away... but that shouldn't matter, right? Because I'm not a citizen. And because I d-d-deserved it." A tear ran down Monotaro's cheek.

Joe stared at Jonah as if seeing him in a new light. "_You_ were that person in the film from Matt's house," he responded. He grabbed Jonah by the hand, quickly handcuffing him. "You are under arrest for assaulting a minor, tampering with witness evidence.." he listed off a few more - "and everything I can think of."

"Why didn't you tell them sooner?" Alex asked, though he suspected Monotaro was afraid.

"I-I thought I couldn't, that it wouldn't matter because Matt kept telling me I wasn't a citizen."

Suddenly, Eagle burst into the door, having heard from Ben that Monotaro was there. "Monotaro!" he said, breathing a sigh of relief. "I've been looking all over for you!"

"R-really?" he asked as he walked over to Nick.

"Absolutely. I couldn't help but hear what you said. Did you say that _HE_ assaulted you? Do you know who I am?" Eagle had talked with MI6 and it had been decided that while Wolf, Alex and Ben, along with Snake, needed to be silent about their identities, Eagle needed to reveal his. He turned to Jonah, who was currently in handcuffs. "Do you know whose child you assaulted?"

"He's a slave, no one cares about him. I was doing Matt a favor by putting him in line."

"He's _MY _child. Did you THINK before you helped hold hostage a SAS member's _CHILD_, TEENAGER, NOT A SLAVE? I am a member of the Secret Service and have been looking for him for the past week! I have connections to MI6 and I swear to God I will take you down. If there's one thing I hate, it's corrupt cops!" Eagle spat.

Joe raised his eyebrows. This was the Nick who had adopted Monotaro? Well, he felt much better about who he was going home with.

"He obviously doesn't care about you enough then, otherwise he would have tried harder to escape. And I think you're bluffing, where's your ID?" Jonah retorted.

"Bluffing? I have the paperwork right here - paperwork that says I'm MI6, that says I'm SAS, that says he's my kid. You wanna see it, it's all right here. And for your information, he's here now and that's all that matters. Get him out of my sight, he makes me sick," Eagle said as he shoved his SAS ID in Jonah's face.

"I will get payback on ALL of you. Just you wait and see!" Jonah yelled as Pete dragged him down the hallway.

"Come on, Niles," Eagle said, embracing the kid in a hug. "Oh, thank God you're okay." He sent a silent glance to Wolf, who nodded signaling that he and Alex were okay. "Come on Niles. We're going home."

"No, you're not!" Jonah snapped as he grabbed the gun from his waistband and opened fire on Eagle, who fell promptly to the ground. While everyone was shocked and distracted he grabbed the first person who was nearest to him, Monotaro.

"If any of you try to follow me, I blow the kid's brains out!" Jonah yelled as he pointed the gun to Monotaro's head.

"Whoa, hold down your fire!" Joe snapped.

Monotaro closed his eyes, thinking, _no, no, no. _The was exactly how his sister's death had played out, and now Eagle was on the ground. _No, no, no... _He didn't attempt to fight back, too shocked. Besides, fighting a police officer was an offense - he knew that.

"Don't tell me what to do, Joe, now I'm going to walk out of here. No one stops me, I will contact you later for collateral." Jonah sent a glare towards Joe and dragged Monotaro out of the room, the gun still positioned at his head.

Monotaro whimpered as he was roughly dragged out of the door. There had been a "distraction" that had happened a few feet away and all of the police officers were there. "Please don't hurt me," Monotaro sobbed as a door was open and he was roughly shoved in the seat. "Please don't hurt me," he said as he felt the ropes around his wrist.

"Just shut up, you're one of Matt's slaves. Surely that's one of the first rules he teaches slaves now-a-days? If not, that's one of my rules, break it, and I break a bone, or shoot you."

Monotaro allowed a tear to slide down his face. "S-s-sorry."

"I thought I told you not too fucking speak!" Jonah yelled as he slammed the gun down on his arm, smacking Monotaro's arm more times in a row than he could count. Monotaro allowed tears to run down his cheeks in pain, but he was silent.

Jonah looked up and down Monotaro, "How old is Matt recruiting now?"

Monotaro remained silent but did nothing to stop the tears that ran down his cheek. Ignoring Jonah, he curled up his arm into his chest. After all, Jonah had said he couldn't speak. Besides, he didn't know what "recruiting" meant.

"I asked you a question, answer it," Jonah demanded.

"I-I don't kn-kno-know what re-c-cruiting means." By this time, Jonah had slammed the police car door and had started the key in the ignition. Monotaro tried to move his fingers but they hurt too much.

"What are you, fucking stupid or something? Just answer the question: how old are you?"

_I don't know, I don't know, I don't know, _Monotaro thought, trying desperately to remember. After a minute of panicked silence, he said, "F-f-f-fourteen. Sir."

"You don't seem too sure..." Jonah led off. "Are you positive?"

"I t-think so - I mean yes," Monotaro apologized. "Yes. Sir. I am fourteen. That's what Matt - I mean -" he winced, realizing he'd just said his owner's name out loud. "I'm sorry!" He apologized. He winced again. Not only had he said Matt's name out loud, he'd provided extra commentary.

"Geez, what the hell is your problem? Did your owner, not Matt, teach you any manners at all? You have no respect what-so-ever," Jonah told him.

Monotaro whimpered but did not otherwise reply. He swallowed hard, thinking carefully. "Sorry, Sir."

"I don't want to hear your excuses, so just shut up," Jonah snapped.

_Don't speak, don't speak, don't speak_. They turned down multiple roads in silence. "Wh-what about N-I mean - my current owner - sir?"

"I don't know who that idiot Nick was, but he is not your owner. He stole you from Matt, so I'm returning you for money," Jonah told him.

Monotaro flared. That was a lie and he knew it. "N-Nick b-b-bought me. Is h-he okay? He is the o-o-ne you s-shot."

"Ohhh! Yeah, he died," Jonah said nonchalantly, not caring that the words would forever change both their lives.

"N-No," Monotaro whispered. "N-No. He was alive when we left. No!"

"Hate to break it to you, kid, but he's dead. That was a perfect shot, and guns can kill people you moron."

"H-he ad-d-dopted me..." tears slid don Monotaro's face fully now.

"I don't want to hear another word out of your mouth until we arrive at Matt's, understand? If I hear anything, you will lose a few toes, as simple as that."

Monotaro swallowed hard and buried his face as much as he could in his jacket, not saying a word.

* * *

"That was a lame shot," Eagle grumbled even as the first aid woman helped clean him up. "James, can't you tell them I don't need first aid?"

Alex smirked. "Yeah, _James_. But instead of telling them he doesn't need first aid, tell them to double his dose of painkillers." Alex had finally gotten to the point where he felt like Wolf wasn't going to beat him.

"Speaking of painkillers... how is your arm?" Wolf questioned as he walked over.

"Whose arm?" Alex asked innocently. He was worried about Monotaro, but Joe and Pete were interviewing half the squad and doing all they could about that. "Mine or Eagle's?"

"Whose do you think? I'm not joking Alex, you are supposed to be still wearing that sling, and now you're not."

Alex frowned. "Well... See... I was kidnapped and Ben stole it. You should tell Snake on him, _James_."

Wolf frowned, "Why aren't you calling me Dad? And that is a lame excuse, and you know it. Don't worry though, I'll get you a new one," he smirked.

Alex gave him the finger.

Eagle spoke up. "We need to find Monotaro."

Alex groaned. "I know. Wolf... does Jonah look familiar to you?" he asked. He had no clue who the man was.

"Yes," Wolf grounded out. "He was the bastard at the shelter who smacked you."

"And called you a faggot?" Alex added helpfully.

Wolf glared at him, "Don't remind me."

"Do you know anything about him?" Eagle asked, before adding, "Besides that he is both a bastard that abuses children and has a hatred towards gays...Wolf-man, I didn't know you were gay?" he questioned. "Not that I have anything against that or anything... you just never told me."

Wolf buried his face in his hands. "Eagle-man, if I'm gay, how did I have Alex over here?"

"Eww! Too much information," Alex said. "Do not go into any more detail please, and I know I don't know him... Wolf he looked at you a lot - did you know him before he called you a faggot?"

"Wait, Cub is your kid?" Eagle put in. "I'm missing out on something here."

"Yeah, you are. It's called sanity," Wolf informed Eagle. "Jonah knew me from the first time Matt lent me. He was like his right hand man."

"What did he do to you?"

Wolf flinched. "I think that's a question for another time, right?" he asked as he looked at Joe and Pete who were coming back into the room.

* * *

It was another hour before Eagle and Wolf were able to be alone. "What happened back there? You flinched, man. You never flinched."

Wolf rolled his eyes. "Eagle, is it possible that you're reading too much into this?"

Joe ducked is head in the room, glad to see the two men still there. "Hey, Wolf, I got the result of your DNA test with Alex's back."

"Yeah, Joe, about that -" Wolf started to say but was cut off by Joe.

"It is a match, so you two could live together without Ben involving this fake 'document'."

Wolf felt his heart stop. "It's a match?" he asked. "It's a match?" he repeated a second time.

* * *

Challenges:

Where does Wolf know Jonah from? Why did Wolf flinch? What will happen about the DNA test result from Wolf and Alex? Is the test accurate? What will happen to Monotaro? What do you think of Joe now?

**Bonus: Everyone who reviews this time will get sneak peaks the same DAY this time, not the day before the update! (By same day, we mean within a 24 hour period. We do have to sleep sometime). **


	23. Hidden Relations

_A/N: In the United Kingdom, gun laws are very strict. Not all police officers carry guns, and according to someone who helped with this chapter, they wouldn't carry them unless they were being specifically sent after an armed target (and even then, they still might not). I have given Joe a weapon in this story because he is being stalked by Matt (and because, as you'll soon see, his department is, shall we say, very loose on some rules.) Thanks to NightmareWorld for the beta help and WolffetteMoon. (Sorry if I spelled your name wrong, I tired to look it up but it was lagging. ^.^) _

_Also there was some confusion about the DNA test. As you'll see in a few chapters, the test matches Alex to Wolf at 98%. Wolf, when he was rescued by Joe, bought into Joe's domestic violence story as a way of escape. That means that not only does he have to pretend he's a domestic violence victim, he also has to pretend that Alex is his son - only to find out, of course, that Alex might be his son. Someone else pointed out that if Alex were his son, he would have known him at Breacon Beacons. This is true - if Alex had been known to him. However, if he'd been, say, kidnapped or something, Wolf wouldn't have recognized him. _

_Sorry for the long author's note, but I wanted to explain what happened. _

* * *

"Well, yes...were you expecting something different?" Joe questioned.

"I just expected Ben to try and get in and fake the records... Or Matt to try something... or anything," Wolf said, trying desperately to cover himself. "Matt and Ben have been _so _abusive for so long - and - and... They can't hold Alex over my head anymore as a threat?"

"Nope, as soon as they do, you will be contacted immediately and they will be taken to court. Of course they would lose, so it would be smart for them not to try in the first place. So, yes Alex is yours."

Wolf nodded, his heart racing. How the hell was he related to Alex? "I - I need to sit down," he said, sinking into the chair.

"Can you get Alex for me, please?" he asked Joe.

Joe nodded and left the room, and a few minutes later, he had Alex in tow.

"Can you tell him?" Wolf asked. "He might not believe me." Eagle had gone out and was talking on the phone to someone else, oblivious to Wolf's anxiety.

Alex spoke up. "Tell me... tell me what?"

"That you and Wolf are related by records. It's all there, the proof you need to get Matt and Ben off your back," Joe explained.

Alex sank into the chair across from the table. "But - it can't be true -" he swallowed hard and looked at Wolf. "Matt always said - Matt always said he would never let us... Matt said Ben fucking _owned _me, dammit!" With that, he stood up and then sat back down. "But - but - what about Ben owning me?" he asked. He looked like he was about ready to cry.

"Yeah, what about that? Jonah always told me that he was going to take the person back to their owner, not too who they were related too," Wolf responded.

"According to Matt, Ben is now my owner, therefore Wolf doesn't really matter..." Alex spoke up, before adding, "no offense Wolf."

"None taken - that's what I was trying to say. I mean, they always give us this shit and they have government officials sign it. Joe, how do we fight that?" Wolf asked. "I mean, yeah, there's domestic violence going on but there's also more than domestic violence going on if you know what I mean."

"I don't know if they would get away with the domestic violence charges...it seems like there is a lot of them. I guess it all depends on what judge you get, and how good Ben and Matt are at lying..."

Alex shook his head. "They have Mr. Heft on their side, Joe - he beat me up and they took me to the hospital and..." Alex clamped his lips shut, wondering if he'd revealed too much. "I feel sick," he said. He lunged for the trash can and vomited inside.

"Can we continue this conversation at my place?" Wolf pleaded. "I don't want to be somewhere where one of Ben's buddies can overhear us and use something against us... sorry Joe," he whispered.

"None taken, let's move out, shall we?" Joe asked as he opened the door and found Eagle pacing back and forth, muttering into his phone.

The group traveled to Wolf's safe house in silence. Alex was stunned. How had his results matched Wolf's?

When they arrived, Alex bolted to his bedroom, and shut the door. "Sorry," Wolf apologized as he moved to the kitchen, "Tea or coffee?"

"Not a problem, he probably has a lot on his mind right now. I'll take coffee, thanks," Joe responded.

"Here you go," Wolf said, pulling some for himself as well. "So what do we do? I'm scared to testify against Ben in a domestic violence case. I mean, for one, he hasn't been caught yet, but for another... the things that he and Matt did and threatened to do to Alex if I ever told..." Wolf shuddered. Truthfully, he wasn't that scared, but had to play his part. Besides, it would be a step in payback for getting back at Ben.

Joe sighed and set his mug down, "I know thinking about going to testify is a terrifying thought, but if you stick with it and tell the truth, they can easily pin everything on Matt and Ben."

Wolf groaned as he hit his head on the desk. "What about Alex? Does he have to testify? They can't pin the rape on Matt; there's no evidence... wouldn't it just be our word against theirs?"

"Actually if you believe it or not we have video evidence of everything that went down in Matt's house."

Wolf set down his mug of coffee. "Everything..." he ran his hands through his hair. "I just worry because Matt has so much power," he said.

"Yep, everything, and he won't have so much power when you testify. Although I would recommend counseling after all of this is over, for all of you."

"What the fuck good will a counselor do for me?" Wolf demanded, crossing his arms. "I think a counselor's been good for Alex, but don't they usually just work with kids and shit?" He knew they did a lot more, but was determined to play out his part here. Well he personally was planning on going to the counselor when he was done with this, he knew that the character he was planning would not go to one, and he was determined to act the part.

Besides, it would be fun to see Joe's reaction.

At Joe's raised eyebrow, Wolf replied, "Sorry. Ben always said counselors were for weaklings and threatened me when I asked to talk to one."

"I suppose you could look at them being just for kids, but answer me this, is Cub a weakling?"

"Why the fuck - no, of course not!" Wolf snapped. "Why the hell would you ask that?"

"Then that's your answer to try to get out of counseling. If Alex needs it, so do you, he wasn't the only one abused in that house."

Wolf sighed. Whether he wanted to admit it or not, he had been abused by Ben and Matt. Sure, he'd been undercover at the time, but it had messed with his mind. "Yeah, but I wasn't raped," he pointed out.

Joe shook his head, "It doesn't matter. Ben was still hostile towards you, and it showed. Do you remember the first time we met? How I asked you about what happened, and you wouldn't tell me because Ben had threatened you?"

Wolf shook his head. "That was different, Cub was there -"

"Cub is here now too...what are you two talking about?" Alex asked as he peered in the kitchen.

"Not you," Wolf responded as he picked up his coffee cup, threw it in the sink, and stormed outside.

"Clearly not," Alex remarked. "Are you trying to talk him into seeing a therapist?" he asked with a raised eyebrow.

"Yes, and it was going quite well, until you showed up - not that it's your fault. If you'll excuse me, I need to go talk Wolf into going to see one, the sooner the better," Joe commented as he got up, and followed Wolf.

"Word of advice," Alex called. "Tell him it would benefit me."

Wolf was found sitting outside on the porch steps. "I'm not fucking disabled or something."

"I realized that the moment I met you, holding your own in a fight like that is pretty tough, but you managed. And you will manage by going to see a ther-"

Wolf cut him off. "Look, Matt fucking threatened me, alright? Said if I saw a therapist, he'd hurt Cub again. You think Cub can handle anything else?"

"Not with that sprained leg, he can't. Listen Wolf, we did the DNA test, and you two are a match. That's all the proof you need to go on living your lives, but you cannot do that until you see a therapist."

Wolf sighed. It was basically SAS code of conduct that you didn't talk to a therapist while working a case, but this wasn't the norm. He decided to lay out his cards on the table. "Look - Joe - thanks for your help - but..." he let out a breath. "Look. I knew Jonah from the minute I laid eyes on him, okay? He's a fake counselor. Matt took me too him once. And you know what he did? He tried to solve my problem by locking me in the closet overnight. You wanna tell me how _that _fucking helps?"

"And yet you send Cub to these said meetings with...abuse counc-"

"I'm right there and can make sure nothing happens!" Wolf retorted. "Look. It's working for him. But how do I know that someone isn't going to pull that stunt again? Then what would happen to Cub?"

"Are you really stressed about seeing a therapist? I noticed you always say Alex's slave name when you have a lot going on."

"Fuck you," Wolf muttered as he ran his hand through his hair, tired of Joe saying things like this. "I already told you why I can't see one, Joe, dammit!"

"Well, you have to see one, if not for the physical abuse that you've obviously been through, then at least anger management," Joe told him, changing his tactic slightly.

Wolf ran his hand through his hair in an attempt to calm down. "I haven't hurt anyone yet, have I?" _And I'm not planning too, either. _

"That is correct...but in previous matters of abuse, it tends to go in a circle. What I mean is, that now you are fine, but a trigger could happen and cause you to lash out at Cub. It actually surprises me that you haven't yet...after all you seem to become angered easily," Joe told him, then sighed when he saw the glare Wolf was giving him. "I'm not saying that it will happen to you, but to better be safe than sorry. It happened to me though, my partner abused me, we broke up, and moved on. However after denying counseling, I lashed out at a cashier, she really did nothing wrong, but it was just a small trigger that set everything off...if you're really paranoid about seeing a physiologist, then perhaps I could fill in? I did major in psychology."

Wolf looked at him. Well, it beat seeing a shrink. "Fine. Then do you care if we talk now? Like in a session related type deal? Because there's a bunch of things I'm stressed about that I don't want to talk to Cub about. And don't you dare say I told you so."

Joe bit his cheek to refrain from doing so, and simply nodded in return. "Start whenever you're ready, what are you stressing out about?"

Wolf gave him a look. "Ben. I haven't seen him at all since that time he tried to take me on a joyride. I know he hasn't just let me go and that worries me. But at the same time, I don't want to tell Cub anything. I'm also worried about Matt - what if he tries to hurt Cub again? And they seem so damn sure that the document that they have signed saying he's a slave covers everything."

Wolf wasn't stupid - he knew slavery was illegal - but he was still stressed. "And while we're on the subject, I'd like to know why Ben went from being a 'nice partner' to being a complete psychopath." He knew the answer to the last one but thought it would be the tidbit Joe needed to get going. _Fox is going to shoot me for this_, he thought, but it was just step one to payback.

Joe nodded, "That would make the most since, he was your former partner. You're worried that he will come back am I right? I would be more concerned about Matt trying to come, since he has accomplished that before, however, I would recommend telling Cub how you feel, and get his thoughts as well. They could be helpful if Matt comes unexpectedly and get both of you prepared. But me and my team will be looking for him, Ben too, so you don't have to worry about that. Oh, and I'm putting a guard here 24/7, too. Just focus on Cub and yourself. As for the document...I would have to see it firstly, but from my knowledge, the government hasn't changed the law, so that shouldn't be a major deal anyway. Ben is like my former partner, in some ways more than others, there is nothing you can do about his mood, or his actions. But remember you are not at fault here, same goes with Cub."

"Yeah... if I'm not at fault then how come I couldn't get Cub away from him sooner?" Wolf demanded.

"Ben and Matt are criminals. They do what they do best, which is breaking the law. You couldn't have done anything, unless you wanted to be a dead man," Joe replied.

"But if I was stronger-" Wolf sighed. "But if I'd... I mean hell, even Cub called the cops before I did! Then again... I knew Matt has paid cops before..." he let his voice trail off. He _hated _Matt.

"Cub had the advantage and disadvantage of having to live with Matt. Thus why he probably didn't know about the bad cops, and why he had the courage to call before you did...and if I remember right, Cub could've only called because you were bleeding out on the floor, and Ben didn't seem to want to stop."

"There was that, but technically I wasn't passed out... How do I know my triggers?" Wolf asked, curious now.

"Well, it is usually a trial and error type of figuring out. If something happens, that scares you or makes you really pissed off, that is probably one of your triggers. It would be best to stay away from what caused it."

"And how do I know what - is every one of Matt's and Ben's threats going to be a trigger for me now?"

"Not exactly, take when I brought up counseling, for an example. You threw your coffee cup into the sink and stormed off. So you see that 'counseling' was a trigger. We could condense them to a few, although it depends...what types of threats did Matt and Ben give you, or Cub?"

Wolf frowned. "We'd better get out a few pieces of paper. This list is endless."

Two hours later, Wolf had come up with this list, thanks to Cub's help:

_Don't talk to law enforcement officers or I'll kill you _  
_Don't run away or I'll kill you, resurrect you, and kill you again_  
_Talking to counselors is for wusses' who can't handle anything and if you do I'm gonna beat you with a belt strap_  
_If you back talk, don't expect to speak the next day_  
_If you don't take your drugs/medication you don't get to eat _  
_if you even think about removing the anklet, you don't even want to know what will happen _

Joe pointed to the anklet one. "What anklet?" he asked.

"You didn't tell him, Wolf man?" Alex asked.

"Matt made us wear anklets to ensure - oh shit," Wolf said, hitting his head on the table. "I am so fucking stupid!" With that he put his pencil on the table and stormed to his room, slamming the door.

"You should go after him," Alex said.

"Should you stay here alone?" Joe questioned worried as he got up and headed down the hall.

Alex raised an eyebrow. "He's in his _room, _Joe. I'm not suicidal or anything - at the minute I'd say Wolf needs more help then me. Good luck preventing him from climbing out the window or something."

Joe mentally cursed, knowing Wolf would do something like that, and quickly opened the door.

Wolf was there, going through a box. "Fuck, fuck, where'd I put it?"

"Why don't you just calm down Wolf, and tell me why you're so upset, and what you're looking for?"

"Where did I _put_it -" Wolf said, ignoring Joe. He swore angrily. "Dammit, Eagle's gonna fucking kill me..."

"Eagle? Is he a slave, if so why would he hurt you?" Joe asked concerned.

"Fuck you Joe, you don't know a fucking thing about our world," Wolf responded as he pulled out his phone. "Watch Alex for me," he said as he grabbed his car key and started for the door, phone in hand.

"I won't know anything about 'your world' if you won't inform me of it," Joe said. He moved so he blocked Wolfs path. "If you're going anywhere you have to tell me where, and why."

"Just watch Cub." With that Wolf stormed out but Joe stopped him -

"Look, I can help you if you want... but regardless you still have to tell me why."

"How do I know you're not a dirty cop? _Damitt! _I'm gonna have to take Alex now!" Wolf sank to the ground, exhausted. "Oh, shit. This is my entire fault. This is all my fault." How could he forget one of the most basic SAS rules? Always keep your partner informed about _EVERYTHING_?

Joe raised his hands in the air, "What's all of this sudden desire to pin me for being a dirty cop?"

"Sorry... I just... I need to talk to Eagle..." Wolf flipped open the phone and punched in the numbers, thankfully getting Eagle. "Eagle... get your ass over here now. Yeah, now! I need to talk to you!" With that he hung up.

"Do you know of any dirty cops on the force besides Jonah?" Joe asked.

Wolf flinched. Yeah, he did. Like five of them. At least. "What's it to you?" he asked. He trusted Joe... he did. He just needed to make sure that Joe wasn't going to flip out when he mentioned five names.

"Well since I'm on the same force, don't you think I should know these things?"

Wolf drew himself up. "How do I know you're not gonna beat me for telling you? Jonah did that to me."

"Do you really think that I, a cop who went through about as much domestic violence as you did, would beat _anyone _up?" Joe said as he looked at Wolf.

"I guess not... Matt said that Joe Cramshew, Peter Puppet, Jonah Harrison, Michael Bangcok, and David Wilson would all be more than happy to beat me if I said anything. There you go." Wolf crossed his arms. "Now what are you going to do about it?"

"First thing, is we find these bastards and give them what they had coming," Joe told him with a scowl on his face.

Wolf flinched. "And you're not gonna hurt me or Cub in the process right?"

"Of course not! Why would I do that?"

Wolf shrugged. "Memories," was all he would say as he walked from the room.

Joe sighed. They would have a long battle getting Wolf and Cub back to normal - but he _would_ make sure it happened. And while he was at it, he and Pete would be having a LOVELY talk with some of the members on the armed forces.

* * *

Challenges:

Will Joe actually talk to people in the armed forces?

Why is Wolf so stressed?

Is the DNA test legitimate? If so, how is Wolf related to Alex, and how did he not know the kid?

Which K-Unit member [not Ben] will be arrested next chapter?

Please review! We had more than 90 people read ch22, but only 15 review. If you even copy and paste 'good job', Dinosaur and I will be like, so thrilled. CHALLENGE: Try and include an idea for a scene you have that happens somewhere in the story, and we'll see how realistic it would be to include it!


	24. 75 Percent Life Changing

_A/N: First, I'd like to clarify something. We tried to point out part of why Wolf was so stressed in the last chapter, more information will be given this chapter. Congrats on you all for coming up with some really, really good answers! You should feel proud of yourself! Also, when I said that the DNA matched at 98%, I didn't realize that would make them practically identical twins (biology was never my strong point anyway). _

_Additionally, keep in mind that Wolf doesn't necessarily have to be Alex's father - he's just going along with whatever Joe throws at him, pretty much, because he knows he needs to keep his cover as best as he can to get himself and the kids out of this mess._

_Don't forget to check out our profile poll and vote on what happened to Monotaro's sister!_

* * *

"Hey, Wolf, can I talk to you about something?" Joe asked as he waved Wolf into the police station.

Wolf stopped. "What, what's wrong? I didn't do anything right? I thought you just needed me down here to file a report." He glanced at Alex. "Go - go talk to Johnson," he finally said, waving down the SAS man who was there.

"Sure, Boss." Alex looked at the two, before looking at Joe and saying, "Don't beat him up." With that he was gone.

The two went to a private room, but instead of Joe speaking first, Wolf spoke first. "I'm sorry if this is about Niles."

Joe glanced up. "Why would it be about Niles?"

"Because I forgot to tell Johnson about his tracking bracelet," Wolf said.

"That's not your fault, Wolf. First, chances are that he could have been found anyway, without that, but furthermore, one of us should have noticed. It is not your fault. I know Johnson doesn't hold it against you."

"Thanks, I think," Wolf said. Alex had had another screaming nightmare last night that had lasted until 2:30 in the morning, and Wolf was absolutely exhausted. "Why did you call me here?" he asked.

Joe cleared his throat. He really didn't want to confront James on this, but felt like it was important information that he needed to know to help him fight back against his abusers. "Wolf, the DNA test matched you at 75%."

"And?" Wolf said, denying the obvious.

"And at that number, it's unlikely that you're his father."

"So now you're trying to tell me we aren't related? Fuck this shit, that's exactly what Ben said the police would do."

"That's not what I'm saying here," Joe said, holding up his hand before Wolf could attack him any further. "I'm just asking you to tell me the truth."

Wolf bit his lip nervously. Honestly, he couldn't tell the truth because he didn't know the truth. Unless Alex had been sold as one of the black market babies his mother had often traded for drugs... he had to fight to keep his shock down. "Who did the DNA test?" He asked.

"I did, Wolf. I ran it through myself three times, and I stayed there each time to make sure nobody tampered with the blood sample. It's legitimate."

Well, there went his theory that MI6 had messed with the sample. He let out a breath-and lied. "My mother and father were killed in a car accident on Alex's thirteenth birthday. I took over custody of him because there was nobody else to do it. You already know I was dating Ben. After he found out that I had a kid, he invited me to move in with him. Then, before I knew what was happening, he traded Alex off to Matt. That's when Ben's abuse started. I didn't want to say anything about him being my brother because I know it's much easier for him to get taken away than if I was his father. Ben threatened me with that every day."

Joe looked out at Alex who was playing the police office's only game of Apples to Apples with Eagle. "It'll be a cold day in hell before I let Ben take him back, you hear me? He's yours, and if you ever have a problem, I will fight for you."

"Thanks Joe," Wolf said, feeling relieved for the first time in ages.

"You're welcome. Just tell the truth from now on, okay?"

"Sure," Wolf responded, thinking ton himself, _I'll tell it as_ _as soon as I know it_.

* * *

Matt scowled as he approached the car and tapped on the window. "Nice find!" he said as another car pulled in the driveway. He opened the door for Jonah. "How hard was he to track with the anklet?"

"Not very difficult. He was practically standing around everyone. He was there when I brought in Cub - Ben's slave - so I just grabbed him, and here we are," Jonah told him as he got out of the car.

"Very nice." Matt opened Monotaro's door and grabbed him, half-dragging the sleepy teenager out of the car. "Look who returned home."

"This looks exactly like hell, and you be the demons."

Matt slapped the kid. "Didn't say you could speak."

Monotaro ducked most of the slap. "Nick said I didn't have to take anything else. Back off."

"Where the hell did you find this kid?" Jonah demanded. "He has quite the mouth on him, doesn't fucking do what he's told. Doesn't listen either, I told him that the 'Nick' guy was dead. He doesn't believe me."

"Never should have let Nick get the bitch. I swear he undid all my work. Monotaro, when's the last time you had drugs? You sound like you need some drugs. Let me get some from the kitchen." Matt grabbed Monotaro's hand and started to drag him in.

He yanked his hand back immediately, and when Matt lunged for him he smacked away the offending hands. "Leave me alone!"

"Need some help?" Ben asked, coming over and glaring at the teenager. "Listen to your owner, Monotaro... Oh wait that's me, right, Matt?" He smirked. "News flash, Monotaro - Nick is dead- you have to listen to us now."

Monotaro gritted his teeth, but kept pulling away. "I'll listen to you when pigs fly. Wolf and Alex got away. It's not like you all are as strong as you really think you are."

Matt smirked. "Puh-lease. You think we really let them get away? No. They are safe in the hands of the police, right, Jonah?"

"Yep, and they are being held there on domestic violence charges against Ben. So, they will be there for awhile."

Ben muttered under his breath, "Until they get out... Hey, where's the paper saying I own Monotaro, Jonah?"

"It's in my safe-" Jonah said, but was cut off by Monotaro. More specifically, he was cut off by getting hit roughly in the midsection as Monotaro scrambled away, shrieking as he did so. Matt, stunned for a split second, tried to stop him, and got hit in the face. Ben was just standing back, barely reacting.

Ben eventually reached out and grabbed him, cuffing both of his wrists behind his back just before he got away. "I want that paper now so that I can leave with him and re-train what Nick undid. Monotaro, you better shut up and be still or I won't feed you for a week, got it?"

Monotaro struggled for a few more seconds, decreasing in intensity. "I want Nick to be my owner, not you!"

Ben groaned. "Dammit, Jonah, I told you that you shouldn't have lied to the kid. He would have done much better to hear that Nick is alive but that I'm his owner now."

Monotaro instantly became quiet, staring at Ben. Jonah looked a little put off. "If he can't handle the truth than that's his fault, not mine."

"You bastard!" Monotaro screamed, lunging at Jonah.

"You'd think he'd be happier since he's not dead," Ben muttered. "I think he got angrier."

"Yeah... I told you not to tell him, but no, you insisted," Matt muttered. "Jonah, don't you have anything we can use to silence the brat for poor Ben here?"

"And Wolf didn't abuse you!" Monotaro yelled. "The police said _you're_the abuser! Not Wolf!"

Matt smacked him. "Jonah, go get something from your car to silence him. Please."

"I'll be glad to," Jonah said as he glared at Monotaro and made his way out to the car.

"Something that will allow Ben to take him wherever he goes in peace," Matt added.

Ben shrugged. "I can handle the brat just fine, but I guess the backup wouldn't hurt. Monotaro, listen up. I'm your owner now. Nick may as well be dead because he's dead to you. You'll never see him again."

Jonah came back in before Monotaro could comment. He threw a small package at Ben, who caught it with ease. "That stuff is the strongest I've got," he explained to Ben.

Ben smirked. "I'll be sure to enjoy feeding it to him... what do you think Monotaro? Want some drugs?"

Monotaro ripped his arm away from Ben's. "What is _wrong_with you people? Nick said slavery's against the law! You can't do this to me and the others!"

"We have a police officer right here saying it's legal," Ben said, pointing to Jonah. "Right, Jonah?"

"It's legal alright, we have the signed documents from the government themselves," Jonah told him.

"Now if you'll _shut up and listen_," Ben threatened Monotaro, "we can make this process much easier for you. Thanks guys, Monotaro and I will be going now."

"I'm not going anywhere with you," Monotaro said as he wretched his hands away from Ben.

"Listen here you little bitch, if you cause any more problems I'll be forced to take you to another country, got that?" Jonah then turned to Ben. "And you, if you screw up this new drug ring, I will personally make your life a living hell."

"Fuck this shit," Ben muttered under his breath. "You don't need to threaten _me_, I'm not your fucking slave."

"Really? 'Cause you seem to act like one, following all of Matt's orders to a 'T'."

"Well, yeah. Who's made more advancements to the ring, me or you? Monotaro, get in the damn car before I slit your throat."

Monotaro didn't say anything, seeming to stare off into space. On another look, he was tense. He was just disobeying by choosing not to act.

"Get. In. The. Fucking. Car!" Ben said, grabbing Monotaro by his injured arm, practically tossing him in. He closed the door before sliding in his own seat. "How the fuck am I going to rescue you if you won't listen to me?"

Monotaro glared at the window for a moment longer, before realizing what he'd said. "Rescue me? By what, screwing me every night?"

"Maybe I will. What do you think about that?" Ben snapped as he dug through his pocket. He felt physically exhausted, as if he himself had been given drugs. He looked it, too. Monotaro watched him for a few moments. His snapping seemed half-hearted, and if Monotaro could guess, he would say that he didn't actually mean what he was saying.

"Monotaro, did you steal my keys?" Ben demanded, having checked through his pocket and not found them.

Well, he was already in a defiant mood. He might as well just keep it up. "No... Sir, you asked a question." Ben's look told him he still wanted it answered. "I don't think you're serious."

"You're right, Monotaro. I'm not serious, I'm _fucking_serious. Where are my keys?"

"How did I take your keys when I'm handcuffed?" Monotaro muttered angrily under his breath.

Ben was about to yell at Monotaro when the door suddenly opened and Jonah stuck his head in. "You forgot your keys." He threw them at Ben, who caught them. Ben was just about to put his hands on the wheel when he was grabbed from behind.

"I want to talk to you personally about the upcoming job," Jonah sneered. "Be at the homeless shelter two days from now at noon. Don't be late," he grabbed Ben's neck, and slammed his head against the steering wheel. "That was for not listening to me earlier."

"Fuck off," Ben told him, giving him the finger as he drove away.

"Where are we going?" Monotaro asked. His eyes were wide open and he was paying attention. This was a whole new version of Ben that he was not used to seeing.

"Shut up."

There was the Ben he was used to seeing. But something didn't feel right to Monotaro, who frowned, but remained silent. Ben flipped open his phone. "Yeah, I need you now, dammit!" He swore, glaring at the phone. "What the fuck, man? No - I need you to take Monotaro back to Johnson. Yeah, I'm not fucking kidding. Johnson's probably at the police station. Yeah, I know Monotaro's adopted. Look, dammit, just meet me in ten at the usual place... okay?"

Ben hung up the phone. "Fuck this crap. You're going back to Johnson."

"But I-what?" Monotaro asked.

"I can't explain right now," Ben explained, "just shut up and be quiet. No talking."

Ten minutes later they pulled into the parking lot of a popular fast food place. "Snake." Ben's greeting was curt.

"Fox."

Monotaro's eyes widened. Why did these guys have slave names? Something did not feel right to him.

"You'll take him to the station and give him back to Johnson. Do not, whatever you do, give him to Jonah."

Monotaro was right there and wanted to scream it, but he was silent.

"Not stupid."

"I know."

"I'll give him to Wolf if nothing else. Come on, Kid." Snake roughly grabbed Monotaro's arm. "Backseat. Fox, good luck."

"Thanks."

Monotaro found himself in the backseat of "Snake's" car when something hit him. Something was wrong here. Very, very wrong. Snake was the same doctor who had let him back into the hands of Matt. What was going to happen now? He froze.

"Don't say anything about the words 'Fox' and 'Snake,'" Snake said. "Just trust me. I'm not giving you back to Matt. Not this time."

Monotaro nodded.

Soon, Snake flipped open his phone and dialed a number, speaking into it. Monotaro blurred out, thinking about what would happen if he went back to Matt. He swallowed hard before closing his eyes and resting briefly against the seat.

"Let's go," Snake said, grabbing Monotaro roughly as he opened the door of the police station. "Hey... I need to talk to Joe," he said as he roughly shoved Monotaro forward.

Monotaro coughed as he held back a retort. He hoped Joe could help him. But wasn't 'Snake' supposed to... he was so confused.

Joe turned around, and glanced once towards Monotaro before glaring at Snake, grabbing his handcuffs and proceeding to tell Snake that he was arrested. Clearly this man was involved in Niles' kidnapping somehow and he needed to find out.

"Get off of me, I'm just returning Niles," Snake snapped as he pulled against his handcuffs. "NICK!" he yelled.

"Niles!" Eagle breathed a sigh of relief. "You bastard," he told Snake, not meaning a word of it. "Why did you take him?"

"I didn't-"

"Anything you say can and will be used against you in the court of law. If you wish -" Joe was almost finished when Snake interrupted.

"I'm NOT guilty!" Snake said as he pulled against the handcuffs. "Tell them that, dammit, Nick!"

Eagle didn't say anything, but he walked silently over to Monotaro, who stared at him as if he had come back from the dead. Joe dragged Snake away, and into a private room. "Your sentence will be worse if you resist arrest, you know that right?"

"I'm _not _guilty. My reference is coming to bail me out." Snake took a deep breath to calm down. "I gave you back Monotaro, that's what you want right? Oh shit! He has a tracking - EAGLE!" he screamed, leaping out of the seat and maneuvering closer towards the door. "Get that damn tracking bracelet out of his ankle!" he screamed. "Matt will find him if you don't!"

"Calm the hell down!" Joe yelled at him as he threw him back into his chair. "I don't know what you're suggesting, but Niles is not a slave, and he is not yours. He is Nick's, not Eagle's... Nick adopted him. What is with you guys calling each other by animal names? Never mind, I don't want to know."

"Monotaro isn't an animal name." Snake rolled his eyes. "You're reading way too much into this B.S. I returned Monotaro. I did a favor. Oh... I know who you are, you're the police officer who helped Wolf with his _domestic violence_shit. You may as well know that Wolf abused Ben, not the other way around."

"Really? 'Cause you should have seen Wolf a few weeks ago, certainly it is not the other way around. If it was, then why does Wolf cringe every time I raise my voice? Plus, why is he so protective of Cub? Why does Wolf get pissed off when I mention the word counseling? How come Wolf won't look me directly in the eyes? Why is Wolf so terrified of the police? I'll tell you, it's all because of Ben. Ben has been lying to you and has also been abusing Wolf."

"You're bullshitting." The plan had changed - it would now be Snake who would be arrested and Ben who would hustle some papers with MI6. They needed to start closing this ring and some of the members were in prison. Snake needed to get to them. The plans had been changed when two minors got involved.

"Wolf isn't pissed; he's scared when you mention the word counseling. Matt always threatened him about it. Counseling is for sissies. Also, Wolf cringes when you raise your voice because he's scared you'll hit him. Every good cop knows that. It's how you get your people silent. And he won't look you directly in the eyes because he was fucking ordered not to. Wolf wasn't being abused, he was being made to listen to orders."

"If you believe that Wolf, Cub, and Monotaro were just _being made_to listen to orders than I could pin you for at least five years," Joe told Snake, disgusted by the mere comment.

"Oh please. You are making this more than it really is, any judge will see that. It's Wolf's fault that he got involved in the first place. We all told him that Ben was a nice guy. Wolf just didn't see that. So naturally, Ben got mad. And Ben got _really_mad when Wolf had a kid that he didn't mention. Wouldn't you get mad at that? So when he could, he cut Wolf off from everyone else and started making him a slave like the piece of shit he was. Although if you want to call it domestic violence that is fine with me, just remember Wolf is not innocent here."

"How is it Wolf's fault? He wasn't the one who made Ben crazy. To inform you on the difference of slavery and domestic violence, they are worlds apart. If I as so much mention the word 'slave' in a court room, everyone will be all over the case. However if I mention 'domestic violence' than it will turn people's heads. They both are pretty bad, but being referred to as a slave is what gets people, and Wolf experienced both while the kids saw the effects of it all."

Snake rolled his eyes. Ben had made his instructions very clear_: Joe and Pete are the only two real police there. You need to get information on the bad boys inside while I need to take care of Free Fly. Make sure to give yourself in deep enough to not be able to get bail_. "Oh please. Look, I helped take care of Wolf. Why didn't he say anything to me about being a slave or being abused when I patched up his arm? I knew that Matt had sprained it, but trust me, Wolf deserved it."

"Obviously he was too terrified to speak up! And if you were a 'doctor' at the time, wasn't it your duty to call it in? Because trust me when I say I know exactly how many times you showed up, and who you patched up."

"Bullshit. Give me an example of what I did 'wrong', then. Hell- I treated them!"

"Oh, I have an example. How about the day you came in and treated Wolf's shoulder? Then a few hours later asked him to carry Cub from the basement? I also have accounts of you speaking with Cub about being sexually assaulted. To me it seemed as you knew what you were talking about... so why didn't you call it in? You do realize the harm it could do to a child if you don't report the abuse of a minor? Plus, you blackmailed Wolf into doing whatever you wanted," Joe told him.

"I did call it in, they told me it was a fucking waste of my time. Plus how was I _blackmailing _Wolf? I was making him get his shoulder treated."

"I remember quite clearly that you told Wolf that Ben would be there sooner or later? Or did I hear wrong while I was strolling through the hours of video that Matt so conveniently taped?"

"Yes, you did. I wasn't BLACKMAILING Wolf. I was threatening him. I quite clearly told him that Ben would come back and hurt him if he didn't cooperate. How is that blackmail?"

"That's blackmail because you are obviously using his weakness to your advantage!" Joe exclaimed. "And it's also a threat, so I can pin you on multiple charges. You disgust me."

Joe huffed and walked out of the room, locking it as he went. Snake sighed and slumped in the chair, knowing he accomplished what needed to be done. "You and me both," he whispered, referring to Joe's last little hated comment. He really hated this damn case.

* * *

Wolf was standing outside of the police station, talking to Eagle. Eagle had removed Niles's tracking bracelet, albeit with much difficulty, and had been relieved to know about it, although he hadn't been totally thrilled with the way Snake told him.

"If you need anything, you call us," he instructed Wolf.

Wolf nodded. "Yes, I have your cell phone number. Be good for Nick, Niles. You can trust him."

"Right, well, if I get abused I'm putting all the blame on you, Wolf," Monotaro told him.

"Don't make me smack you. Just call me if he gives you any trouble-you have a cell phone with my number on it." Wolf frowned. "I can see the question all over your face, kid," he added.

"Were you a victim of domestic violence? Joe said that you were..."

Must. Not. Slaughter. Joe., Wolf thought, even though his anger was only halfhearted. "Yes, Niles, but I will tell you more details later, alright?"

"Promise?" he questioned.

"Well, well, well. Look who I found," Ben sneered. He pointed the gun directly at Wolf. "My 'partner.' I hear you've been _spreading a lot of rumors_."

"You can't touch me. We're outside of a fucking police station. And I promise you, Monotaro, I will. Get inside!" he said.

Monotaro was about to object when Eagle forcefully dragged him inside. Ben smirked, "You have exactly two minutes to explain, otherwise the ending won't be pretty."

"We're in front of a police station, you idiot," Wolf said, moving towards the door. He wasn't fast enough, though. Ben grabbed him and pressed the gun firmly against his back.

"Your two minutes are up, and you are coming with me. Any last words?"

"Fuck the hell up."

"Mind you that I'm the one with the gun. But I will be sure to remember that statement when I decide if you are to live or die later."

"Oh please, what are you going to do, knock me out?" he asked.

"I see you're still giving away great options," Ben said, and a second later the butt of his gun slammed down onto Wolf's neck, making him tumble, and fall to the ground, knocked unconscious.

"Get away from him!" Joe yelled, coming out with a gun. "You won't be allowed to mess with him anymore!"

"Get in the car!" Matt yelled, bringing the car around even as he fired at Joe, driving the car to a halt and grabbing Wolf's listless body.

"Officer down!" the second officer said as he rushed towards Joe, firing back, missing Ben by mere inches.

Ben, in the passenger seat, and looked out the side mirror as Matt drove away. Sighing in relief, he saw Joe sit up with help. He knew that Joe was going to be okay, the shot hadn't been aiming to kill him, but he was still glad to see that he wasn't that bad off.

"What are you going to do now?"

"Teach him a lesson about running away."

"I meant about his kid."

"Leave him there. For now anyway. It's too difficult to control both of them, and without Cub here we always have the threat of going back and getting them."

"True, I think that would be more effective... why did you want Wolf anyway?"

"I wanted to punish him for spreading all of the fucking lies about domestic violence."

"Surely that wasn't your only reason."

"Fuck this fucking shit," Wolf said as he groaned awoke, saving Ben the trouble of answering and reminding Matt that _Matt_had actually intended to kidnap Wolf, not the other way around. "Aw, crap. I feel like crap..."

"Shut the hell up, Sleeping Beauty," Matt remarked.

"You shut the hell up. Why the hell am I here? What did I do wrong?"

"Well, you tried to get away for one. Once we get to the house, you're going to be writing a list of exactly what you did wrong," Ben told him.

"Fuck you."

"And for that, you'll have to carry the list in your pocket."

"Joe said I don't have to listen to you anymore. Let me fucking go."

"Joe's a fucking idiot," Matt said.

"He doesn't know what he's talking about," Ben added.

"Oh and you do?" Wolf snapped.

"More than you I can assure you that," Ben glared at him, expecting another smart-ass remark.

"Sod off. What do you want me to do for you now, anyway? Free fly can't hit the market. They know all about it."

"Oh, you don't have to worry about that, because Free Fly is already on the market," Ben told him with a smirk.

"You're a fucking idiot." Wolf struggled against his handcuffs. "The police will get you, and when they do, you'll be sorry you ever started this damn thing."

"Hmmm, no regrets so far."

"You will when we get done with you," Wolf vowed.

"I think you'll be sorry when we have a talk with Cub," Ben taunted.

Wolf froze. "Leave him alone."

"Well you see, we usually go after family members of our slaves. Since a certain D.N.A. test proves that Cub is related to you... we can't just break procedure because you told us to, now can we?" Ben asked.

"I'll do anything you want, just don't touch him," Wolf pleaded. He was not letting Alex get back in the hands of Matt again.

"Anything?" Matt smirked.

"Yes... anything," Wolf said, feeling truly helpless. "But you can't hurt Cub."

"Perfect answer," Ben told him, knowing he just sold his rights away to protect Cub.

Wolf hung his head, praying that Matt wouldn't abuse the privilege. "Except I won't be your bed buddy," he added.

"Hear that Matt, 'he's not your bed buddy', he's mine."

Wolf swallowed hard, praying that Ben was still a good guy. He had never felt so truly helpless.

* * *

How much of the story that Wolf gave Joe is true? How do you feel about the DNA tests being accurate?

Is Ben still a good guy? Why does Matt want Wolf again?

What will happen to Niles and Alex now?

What will be the biggest surprise next chapter?

Also - everyone who answers all four challenges will get to get a sneak peak each day until the update!

Thanks for your review! we got 161 views and 18 reviews, so I'm challenging you all this: even if you don't answer any challenges, even if you don't have an account, just type 'good job' into the box and hit submit. We'll be forever grateful. We've spent a long time working on this story, and would love some feedback! Thank you all so much for being awesome.

Sneak peaks on Tuesday - unless we get 310 reviews overall (which means that we need 24 reviews of any length.) I know you guys can do it! In the event that we hit 310 reviews, would you like us to update immediately or still hand out sneak peaks and then update the next day? The majority rules!


	25. Names and Stories Shared

_A special dedication to NatalieRose x, who reviewed fifteen chapters she had already read so that you all could get the early update. Thanks to all those who reviewed last night and this morning who I was unable to give sneak peaks too; I figured you would like to have the update. We will be updating on Thursday unless we get 345 reviews. Sneak peaks will be on Wednesday for those who have reviewed. Remember, if you haven't reviewed a chapter yet, but go back and review it, that counts towards the review count! You all ROCK! _

* * *

"What the fuck just happened?" Eagle demanded. "Where's Wolf - what happened to your arm? I need first aid over here!"

"I'm perfectly fine, just a nick is all. Ben fucking dragged Wolf away, and before I knew it, they were gone," Joe told him.

"Nick... like Nick's name!" Monotaro's eyes were wide.

"No, no, no, nothing like that. I just meant that the bullet 'nicked' my arm," Joe explained.

The door burst open and the sergeant flew in. "Eagle. Monotaro. Your identity?" he asked Joe. "I am told to speak to a Joseph Blacksmith only."

"I'm Joe, but who are you?"

"I'm the head of Brecon Beacons. I also need to collect 'Snake'. He's a medical doctor. Do you have somewhere we can talk privately? Like, not in this police station?"

"Thanks for the gift, Sarge," Monotaro told him, relieved that he got a chance to thank him.

Snake had picked the lock from his handcuffs when he had sent for the Sergeant. "Hey, Sergeant. This is Joe. Nice of you to come so quickly. Joe, we need to leave ASAP."

"Wait, I want an explanation, and I want one now."

The sergeant sighed before handing his credentials and letter over to Joe. "You're Pete, right? His supervisor? He'll be back later. We're going for a little ride."

Pete glanced over at the letterhead paper towards Joe, then nodded towards Snake. "And what of him? He was arrested half an hour ago."

"Joe can explain when he gets back."

"Cub, get over here," Snake ordered as he saw the kid.

"Jeeze... Right here, dude," Alex retorted. "So are you in good guy mode again?"

"Who's all coming, and where are we going?" Joe asked, confused.

"Snake, Eagle, Monotaro, Cub, and you. We're going in my jeep. Ideally we're going to your house. Unless you think it's bugged."

"No reason it should be... all right, let's go," Joe told them.

Twenty minutes later, they arrived at Joe's house. "Eagle, Snake, search the house for possible bugs. We'll meet in the kitchen in ten minutes. Sorry, Joe, but we take no chances."

"I understand. Just make sure not to break-"

"Sorry! I tripped!"

"We'll repay it," the Sergeant promised Joe. "Niles, this is what I meant when you have a four-year-old for a father... Ah, shit. Fox seems to have kidnapped your father for the time being, Cub. Wait - Eagle told me you were DNA related. How is that possible? Last I knew Wolf was a virgin. Got that out of him one night when he was drunk."

"I honestly have no clue," Alex deadpanned. "For all I know we could be third cousins or something. Maybe the scan was faulty..."

Joe shook his head, "The match was at 75%. No way you're third cousins. I ran it through myself three times to make sure that it wasn't faulty to make sure Ben couldn't do anything."

"Never pinned you for a liar, Joe," Alex told him lightly.

"Aw hell, Alex." Joe rolled his eyes as he pulled out the paper. "Read this."

Alex read it over, then again, and again, wishing that the numbers and matches would change, they didn't. "Well, then how is Wolf related to me? 'Cause he sure as hell ain't my father."

"Brothers, most likely," the sergeant said, scanning the document. "Snake? Wolf tell you anything about his mother?"

"Not anything specific... just that he had a huge family, and how his father left her..." Snake's eyes lingered over to Alex.

"What?" he snapped, impatient at the turn of events.

"He basically said his mother was a whore who slept around, and that once they were tight on money... She started selling his siblings for profit," Snake said. "I hate to break it to you Cub, but the odds point to you being related to Wolf, are a sure 75%... Meaning that you're one of Wolf's brothers, his mother probably sold you as a baby for drug money. Although I wouldn't really question Wolf about it. I had to force it out of him. It's a tough subject for him."

"You'd better get your story straight, Snake, this is not funny at all," Alex said.

"I think Snake's telling the truth," Eagle pseudo-whispered.

"You got something to say, Eagle?" Alex glared at him.

The sergeant spoke up. "You've been pretending this whole time that Wolf is your father; why is the fact that the DNA test is real so hard to grasp?"

"It's so hard to grasp because as you said, it was all pretend. Never thought for a moment that I would really be related to Wolf! This completely changes everything!"

Monotaro spoke up. "H-how does it change things? Now B-Ben can't hold anything o-o-over you."

Alex smacked his forehead. "Let's say you were living a happy, peaceful life. Then out of the blue, your mother isn't your real birth mom. How would you feel? You just don't understand Monotaro, and to make it worse, she sold me for drugs... some nerve."

"My mother sold me for drugs too," Monotaro said softly. "Snake, if she sold Alex for d-d-drugs, why didn't she s-sell Wolf?"

"He said she needed someone to pick up the empty beer bottles when she got drunk," Snake told him after pausing slightly at the new information Monotaro had shared. Idly, he wondered if Matt had brought any babies off of Wolf's mother. It would be an angle that they'd need to check into for sure.

"Fuck this shit!" Alex swore, throwing the bottle of water Eagle had handed him at the window and walking off.

He came back a minute later. "Snake, I want to make a deal with you."

Snake raised an eyebrow, "I'm listening."

"I won't throw any more water bottles if you promise to tell me that was all a big lie."

"How many of these said water bottles do you have?" Snake said as he slowly took a step back.

"You're lying, right?... This is all some kind of prank. Never mind, that's not what we came here for... Why are we here?" he asked helplessly.

The sergeant knew he wasn't accepting his fate yet but decided not to push it. "Joe, meet Eagle and Snake from K-Unit. And Cub, who was a temporary member."

"Wait...I knew Eagle was in the SAS, but Snake is on your team too? And what do you mean 'Cub was a temporary member'. He's not even sixteen!"

"Yeah, that was a glitch on MI6's part. Long story behind that one. Just know Cub is out of that lifestyle now. Snake is on our team as well. So is Ben, although we call him Fox. And Wolf."

"Cub is right, you are all such outrageous liars it's hilarious."

Eagle shook his head. "Nope it's the truth, Joe-man. Hey Alex? Is Wolf really gay?"

"Hell if I know, he was my fake father like less than an hour ago. Apparently he's now my brother." Alex smacked his forehead and then winced. Monotaro glanced at him in concern. While he had long sense accepted the fact that both of his mothers had traded him for drugs, he had no doubt Alex was in for a bumpy ride, especially since he'd just found out that Wolf was his biological brother, not the father the two were pretending. "I'm getting a headache," he muttered.

"Oh yeah, you need your REAL medicine," Snake said. "Not drugs... am I sounding like Matt?" he asked as he handed Alex his real pain pills.

"Now that you said that, it really makes me not want to take these..." Alex frowned as he looked at the pain pills, examining their colors as if that would reveal the secrets to life.

"Don't worry, they're actual painkillers," Eagle promised him, noticing Alex's dark look. Monotaro gave a wean smile.

"Do you want to take them? That way, if you fall over into a convulsion I know not to take them."

"Can't, they aren't prescribed for me."

"Funny, I said that to Matt... he then beat me and told me to take the damn pills. Guess I have no say in the matter," Alex swallowed the pills and finished off his water. He crushed the bottle, and threw it at Snake. "That was for lying about not lying."

Snake rolled his eyes. "Okay, princess. Clearly, you need to work on anger management."

"Clearly, you need to brush up on your dodging skills," Alex said as he threw another water bottle at him. "And you call yourself a soldier?"

Snake rolled his eyes. "Anyway, now that we're back on topic, we need to talk about a few things. I have no doubt that Fox will release Wolf as soon as possible-"

"Whoa, hang on," Joe said, "You all need to fill me in from the beginning. I'm a bit lost. And I don't think I'm the only one," he added, glancing at Monotaro and Alex.

Alex shrugged. "Getting lost is my life, but yeah, it would be useful to have the information, I guess."

"Okay, so how did you all get started on this case?" the sergeant asked, getting right to the point. Monotaro looked over at Alex again, trying to figure all of this out. Alex looked like he didn't know anymore than Monotaro and gave a brief shrug.

"Well, Eagle, you want to tell this? After all, you were there with Wolf when it all went down anyway," Snake told him.

"When what went down?" Eagle asked.

Snake sighed, "When you guys got information on the drug ring? It wasn't too long ago, a few months or so."

"Oh... right... I thought you meant earlier. I'm tired." Eagle sighed and took out a breath. "I think we need to start at the beginning. I don't think Joe knows very much. No offense, Joe," he hastily added. "Don't you think we should start at the beginning though?"

"Yes, that would be most helpful. Start at how all you guys are connected, more so how Alex is known."

"Actually, I think Alex needs to start with how he got connected," Eagle said. "I know you told Wolf, but you haven't spoken to us about it."

Snake spoke up. "And earlier you yelled at me for the 'animal names', it's an SAS codename. Mine is Snake, Eagle's is, well, Eagle, Wolf is Wolf's, Cub is Cub, and Ben's is Fox."

Joe nodded, then paused. "Wait, Ben works for SAS? But he's being abusive and beating Wolf."

Eagle spoke up. "Yeah, he's playing a psychopath, isn't he? He had to play someone who treated everyone else like they were dirt to get close to Matt. Wolf was actually supposed to be one of the slave owners, but he got kidnapped by Matt because he witnessed Matt murdering someone. Matt didn't want an adult slave, so he traded him to Jeff. Jeff didn't like him, so he traded him to Ben. Ben was already playing a really violent character and had to take out his anger out on Wolf a few times."

"...A _few_ times he beat Wolf! That's an understatement. Ben is practically the reason Wolf hates counseling. I would be shocked of Wolf didn't change sides on you guys soon with everything he's been through."

"He knew the risks when he signed up for the case," Eagle snapped.

"Signed up for the case? He was specifically trying to get away from Ben when Matt kidnapped him! This is all a huge case about domestic violence. To make things worse, they used his own brother against him. Do you think Alex 'signed up' for the case as well? I think not!"

"I don't know, did you sign up for the case, Alex?" Eagle asked lazily. He looked like he didn't care, but Alex knew better. Eagle was trying to see how much Joe knew and what he was right on.

"Was I there when you signed up? Joe's right," Alex snapped, "I'm surprised Fox hasn't gone dark side... Do you think he's gone dark side, Joe?"

"Fox has gone too far into his character. Not only did Wolf not want to date him, but Fox made him move in anyway," Joe told Eagle. "His whole 'relationship' with Wolf has been non-consentul from the start."

"Did they ever go on an actual date?" Eagle asked, blinking. The way Joe said it, he half believed it.

"I doubt it," Joe retorted. "Does Fox seem like the 'nice character' that would take his partner out for dinner?"

"Well... I don't know," Alex went off. "There was this one time where I stole some money from his wallet, and he found out, like, a week later. Anyhow I told him I would pay him back, but he just shrugged it off and told me not to worry about it. Later, I found out he beat Wolf for it."

"You're half making me believe Ben has gone dark side," Snake spoke up. "I doubt it. He's damn good at his job- that's why MI6 choose him- but give me the rundown of what you know from the 'domestic violence' angle."

"I know for a fact that Wolf is afraid of therapy because of Ben, and because of Ben, he won't look people in the eye anymore. When I first found out what happened, Wolf wouldn't talk to me because Ben threatened him, and after that he would have nightmares. If that doesn't show Ben's at fault, I don't know what does. But I think he was guilty from the start and then forced you guys to play along. Wouldn't surprise me from all the drugs tied with the multiple counts of kidnapping," Joe told Snake.

"Wait, multiple counts of kidnapping?" the sergeant asked. "Fill us in on these. The case never had Ben kidnap Wolf. Why the hell would he do that? I need to know the details of when he kidnapped Wolf."

"Well, I don't know everything. But that's what went down. He probably wanted power or something," Joe remarked.

"But why would he want power? He had plenty of power, he was close to Matt. He had the most power on the whole damn case!"

"This case is based on drugs and slaves. He probably wanted a slave to himself since Jeff had Alex and Matt had Monotaro. It would make sense. Domestic violence is all about power, he felt inadequate in the case and decided to take power from Wolf to make him feel more superior."

"But they weren't technically in a relationship before the case started, were they?" Eagle asked.

"I don't know about that, but Wolf was most certainly in a relationship as a slave whether he wanted to be in one or not."

"But Ben told us it was part of his cover," Snake said. Alex was nearly convinced that Fox had gone dark side. "Wolf could have left the case any time he felt like it, right?"

"No, he couldn't have 'just left anytime' because they used Cub against him. I don't know how much time they spent threatening to kill him if Wolf disobeyed anything they said!" Joe told them.

"But Alex is a minor. Ben shouldn't have been able to do that, especially if Wolf felt like he needed to get Alex and Monotaro out of there!" Snake spoke up. "And I told Ben he should take charge of Alex after... uh... the assault," he said, looking guiltily at Cub.

"And he did... in a way," Alex told them.

"I don't think Ben is the villain here," Monotaro spoke up, and blushed when everyone stared at him.

"Want to explain?" Snake asked, wanting to know what Monotaro had caught that they missed.

"Well, Ben actually saved me from Matt and Jeff... He was supposed to hand me over to him but instead he brought me back to Snake who handed me over to Nick, or Eagle. He did the right thing, considering Ben technically owns me now."

"Wait, Ben owns you but he took you back to Snake? That totally contradicts what he's doing to Wolf," Eagle said, just glad Fox hadn't gone dark side. Yet. He had wondered how Snake had gotten Niles back to the police station.

"Well, we shouldn't just forget about everything. He could be innocent, but that doesn't hide the fact what he did to Wolf and Alex in the past."

Alex frowned. "He could have gotten mission orders from above..." he sighed, wanting to reveal his close connections to MI6.

"Monotaro, I'm going to speak candidly here, so please forgive me. Cub, you too. Look, we know Matt is dirty. There's no doubt about that. Let's not forget that Matt raped both Monotaro and Cub. He's probably controlling Fox as much as the heads are, so even though Fox abusing Wolf, if you will, let's not forget that he did the right thing by returning Monotaro and stop pointing fingers at him."

"Matt did what to Monotaro? I knew it happened to Alex, but I never expected Monotaro to get the same treatment," Joe said, shocked.

"We're probably not his only victims," Monotaro said grimly.

"Do you think it happened to Wolf? I mean- do you think he was- you know-" Snake asked, his jaw dropping, horrified.

"I doubt he would have done it to Wolf. Matt has a certain preference for younger individuals. He has made that quite clear with Alex and me," Monotaro added.

"I think I'm gonna be sick," Alex said, going to the bathroom, slamming the door and vomiting heavily.

"I don't think he's quite ready to talk about it as openly as you are," Snake said.

"I'm sorry, did I do something wrong?" Monotaro asked, thinking he was the reason Alex was in the bathroom.

Snake shook his head. "No, Monotaro, you relieved a fear. However, Alex isn't... as accepting of what happened to him as you are." Snake ran his head through his hair. "Oh, fuck, Eagle, you never told us Monotaro's real name."

"You could ask me, I am right here after all."

"Sorry, that was a lecture towards Eagle, not you. What is your name?"

"Uhh, I'm not really sure. What is my name Eagle?"

"Look at your ID card. You have that with you, right?"

Monotaro smirked. "Do you guys really think I would forget my name after not knowing it for years? I will never give up again. It's Niles by the way, Niles Martin. Nice to meet you."

"Nice to meet you, Niles. I would tell you my real name, but since we're on active mission, it's Snake."

Alex came out of the bathroom. "Not quite as ready to talk about that as you are, Monotaro. We should also keep in mind that even if Matt didn't rape Wolf, Ben always threatened to be 'bed buddies' with him," he pointed out.

"That was another thing Ben threatened Wolf with," Joe added. "I'm not sure if it actually happened but it's the words that take effect."

"I'm pretty positive that the actual occurrence makes a bigger impact..." Monotaro said, "But, you are the cop so, continue."

"And Matt also threatened to beat Wolf if he wouldn't do simple tasks such as listen to Ben, or take the drugs that were forced down his throat. -"

Eagle cut him off. "You do realize that was Matt right, not Ben?"

Monotaro spoke up again. "You guys are getting side tracked. We need to know what to do with Wolf getting kidnapped and getting Ben back. Let's just believe he's innocent for now, innocent until proven guilty, right, Joe?" There was no sign of the terrified kid Eagle had adopted nearly two months ago.

Damn, had they been on this case for four months already? No wonder why Joe thought that Ben was guilty. "Right," Eagle said.

Joe frowned, unconvinced. "Right," he reluctantly agreed.

They discussed the case and what it was going, with Joe interrupting every time he didn't know something. By the end, he had to admit that Ben didn't look guilty.

* * *

"You're a fucking idiot," Wolf said as he struggled against his handcuffs as he slowly came back to consciousness. He was going to kill Ben. Undercover or not, this was too much. "Why did you kidnap me? I'm so sick of your shit. I'm not dating you, and I never was, so why the hell am I still here? You know it was Joe who came up with the whole domestic violence angle, except that's the truth, isn't it? You're 'forcing' me to be your partner, beating me, calling me a slave..."

"If I'm a fucking idiot, what does that make you? An ass-hat? That fits together well, and I know it was you that tipped Joe off on all this 'domestic violence' shit. But, you know what? I don't care, because I'm not just calling you a slave, you are a slave. My slave to be more specific. Joe is a fucking idiot if he didn't realize that you belonged to someone already." Ben then reached in his pocket and pulled out a small bottle.

"I'm not taking any drugs. And Joe isn't an idiot. He has a psychology degree. He knows about people like you. And you can't own me, that's illegal."

"Fine then, Joe is another ass-hat. But regardless any ID you have gotten from him is illegal, because Iown you, and therefore you can't have ID. I have all the necessary information for you, so you don't need anything else."

"You sorry son of a bitch!" Wolf ground out. "I am not a slave! I am not a fucking slave! Get that through your damn, thick skull! I am a person, I am not dating you, and I don't want to be here! Let me go, for fuck's sake!"

Ben shook his head and smirked, "Wolf, you haven't learned anything have you? This isn't drugs, or medicine, in fact it's the opposite. Now you make it sound like you have a choice here, which we both know you don't. So, do you want it to be easy, or are you going to be difficult?"

"Fuck you."

"Always the difficult decision? Fine then, don't expect to feel nice after you wake up. Take these and then you can have your ID," Ben said as he reached in his pocket. He gathered a few pills and gave them to Wolf.

"You're the ass-hat if you think I'm taking them," Wolf informed him even as he struggled against his handcuffs.

"Mhhm, I guess you really don't want to be a person anymore? And here I thought you wanted to have a semi-normal life?"

"Where the hell are you going with this?"

"Take the pills if you want that ID back," Ben told him.

"Fine," Wolf ground out, holding out his hand. He doubted Ben would give it to him. But at least he had hope.

Ben handed him the pills and watched as he almost choked on them.

"Gimme my ID back," Wolf said even as he downed the water.

Ben started laughing, "I can't believe you thought I was SERIOUS about giving you that ID back? You're hilarious! Why would I do something illegal?" he took out Wolf's ID and pulled out a lighter from his pocket. He flicked on the lighter and slowly started to burn it.

"What the hell are you doing?" Wolf demanded. "I need that! How am I supposed to get help for Cub without it?" He made a grab for what was left of the ID only to be pushed by Ben.

"Cub doesn't need your help, he needs Matt," Ben said as he watched the fire consume the plastic.

"You've gone fucking dark side," Wolf growled. "I fucking hate you. You can burn my ID, but you can't steal my dignity, my identity. My name is James Synatria and I am not nor will I ever be your partner. And I am NOT your slave."

"Really now? And who has official documents from the government? You are my slave Wolf, and there is nothing you can do about it now."

"I'll never be your slave for as long as I live. You can try and keep me as your slave all you want, and you might force me to work for you, but you can't beat me down. I will never give up, I will get free. And when this is all over, and you are arrested, I am going to kick your ass."

"That'll be the day..."

"Oh, it will happen, trust me. And if Cub 'needs' Matt so much where is he now? You know our DNA matched, right? You know I legally adopted him?"

"It doesn't matter, you're both slaves so the adoption is null and void."

"It's a legal government document - more legal than yours ever will be."

"You really think that Joe would waste his time on you? That adoption is a fake, real things like those take months at a time to finalize. It's not possible."

"It is possible, and Joe isn't wasting his time on me. He's spending it catching criminals like you so we can all sleep better at night. Besides, you should remember that you're the wanted criminal, not me, and the adoption is totally legal. Joe helped me because he was in my spot once, and he got out, so therefore, what you are doing is wrong." Wolf groaned as he felt the drugs start to take affect.

Ben hummed, and ignored everything Wolf said. "And I'm certainly going to sleep better once I know the drugs have kicked in."

"Fuck you," Wolf responded before he drifted off to sleep.

"You're to stubborn for your own good," Ben remarked before he smudged the ashes from the ID into the ground and proceeded to drag Wolf back to the car.

* * *

Challenges: What was the biggest surprise to you in this chapter?

What will the team's next course of action be?


	26. Doctors Gone Awry

A/N: This update is dedicated to meapinghorse, who reviewed eighteen chapters so you all could get an early update. I would like to take the time to dedicate this chapter to NatalieRose x, xXRainbowVeins, Lightning And Blossoms, SilverSpoonSugar, Wolfwind97, Mythomagic-Champion, FallingStar93, Anonomon13, The Daughter Of Artemis, Owltalon, Evci, IFoundAPickle, and anyone else who I missed. Your current goal is to get **390** reviews before we update again, at which point we will update early. Reviews that are for a previous chapter that you read, but did not review, will count. Otherwise, the update will be on Saturday, sneak peaks will be handed out Friday night.

Also, everyone wave high to Torn Apart Paper Dinosaur, who is on vacation visiting her sister.

We hope you enjoy the next installment!

* * *

TWO DAYS LATER

"I can't go to the doctor!" Alex yelled as he moved away from the door. "I can't! I can't! You can't make me!"

Snake sighed as he took a step towards Alex, "We've talked about this Alex. Both you and Monotaro need to see a doctor. With everything that has happened you can not avoid it, it needs to happen and is for your benefit."

"You don't understand!" Alex responded as he slipped on his shoe. He swallowed hard. "Ben took Wolf to the doctor. Can you guess what happened? The doctor beat him. Are you taking me to the doctor or to the doctor?"

"I can assure you that this doctor will not harm you. He is actually a close friend of mine, and if you feel uncomfortable I will be there. So just calm down."

"Oh, yeah, won't harm me. That's what Ben said to Wolf," Alex responded. He swallowed hard. "You don't own me, I'm not your fucking slave; you can't make me go."

"That is correct, but it is the exact reason why you should go. How long was it that you had a simple physical? I know for a fact that MI6 didn't care a shit about you, so all your missions and now this fucked up slave business... you need to be checked out Alex," Snake told him honestly.

"Why the hell can't you do it? You're a medical doctor, right? You do it," Alex said, tossing his words back in his face. "And if you know that MI6 didn't care shit about me why didn't you get me out of there when I was in training?"

Monotaro came in the room, headphones still on, glanced at the two, and then laid down on the couch as he tried to ignore them. He knew that Snake wouldn't beat him. He was finally convinced of that. It looked like Alex wasn't, though. Monotaro was nervous about going to the doctor but was hoping for the best.

"I am a field medical doctor. So I'm not even permitted to do half the things required. On the other hand if I could do them, I don't have the proper equipment. -"

Alex stormed out of the room and slammed the door shut. Monotaro glanced up and looked at Snake. "Are you going to hurt him?" he asked nervously. Matt would always beat someone who ran off like that. "If you are, hurt me instead. Don't hurt Cub. I can take it."

Snake sighed dramatically and sat on the chair that was next to the couch. "No, I will not beat Alex, or you for that matter. He's just upset and will come back soon... if not then we will go for a little walk and search for him."

"You can't do that!" Monotaro said, shoving his iPod back into his pocket. "You're on Matt's side aren't you? Are you going to take me to the doctor who is on Matt's side too? I remember you gave me back to Matt when I was in the hospital..." Monotaro let his voice trail off, the realization hitting him full force. "Oh, god, you gave me back to Matt!"

With that, he bolted towards his room, throwing up in the bathroom even as his hands reached for his inhaler that was on the sink. He inhaled sharply, taking a deep breath. "Damn asthma," he muttered as he backed away from Snake. He glanced upwards. "Please don't beat me! Please don't make me do a f-f-favor for your friend!"

Snake slowly followed him and leaned on the door jam, prying the door open. "Monotaro, I had to give you to Matt when you swallowed those pills. It wasn't time yet for my team, and Matt had too many connections; it was impossible. Though I did let you stay in the hospital longer than you needed, and gave Matt strict instructions that he was to not give you anything..." Snake sighed.

Monotaro pulled himself away. "What do you mean, your team?" he asked, his heart nearly stopping. "And how did you think Matt was going to treat me?"

"My team..." Snake paused wondering how much information he should give away. "My teammates, Wolf, Fox, and Eagle. We are in the SAS, as K-Unit. Matt, was and still is very unpredictable. I just hoped he wouldn't harm you to much."

Monotaro snorted but sat back down on the couch. "I'm not going anywhere to the doctor's," he said. "He can come here if you want to have us treated so badly."

"Monotaro, we don't have the proper equipment to complete the tests. Which is why we need to go to the doctor instead of him coming here. But you see, we can't go yet because Alex needs new clothes. Would you help me get him some?"

Biting his lip, Monotaro sighed. Snake clearly wasn't going to give on the whole medic thing. "Fine," he grumbled. "But Cub goes with," he added. "I'm not going with you alone."

"That works well, I wasn't even going to think about trying to get him clothes without him," Snake told him.

"I'll go, but only if Monotaro goes," Alex said as he came out of his room with his shoes on and his backpack on his back.

"...I made medical appointments for you both."

"Don't worry Monotaro," Alex pseudo-whispered, "If the doctor hurts us, we can just make Snake patch us up."

"I heard that," Snake grumbled even as he grabbed the car keys. They could still get to their appointment in twenty minutes, right?

* * *

"Niles Martin and Alex Hagan?" the nurse called from the door.

Alex jumped. He had forgotten that he had changed his last name from Alex Rider. "I don't want to go," he told Snake. "Do we have to go?"

"Let's just go and get it over with," Monotaro muttered as he stood up, grabbing his backpack. Eagle had given it to him and he lugged it around everywhere.

Their height and weight measurements were taken. Snake didn't look happy that Monotaro was ten pounds underweight but said nothing. Monotaro sat down on one of the chairs as the door closed. "Now what?" he asked. He couldn't remember the last time he had been at a doctor's appointment.

"Guessing that you've skipped out on your previous doctor's appointments, I'll tell you. The nurse goes and records the information she just received and then goes to get the doctor. He will be here shortly," Snake told him as he eyed Alex, who was standing at the far end of the room.

Alex turned around and sat down on the other chair. "You're assuming we had any doctor's appointments to skip out on," he said. "When was the last time Matt took you to the doctor, Monotaro?"

"...Never," Monotaro told him flatly. "Did he ever take you, Cub?"

"Like he would waste time on something that small. He just had Snake come every now and again," Alex mumbled. "And that went over so well didn't it, Snake?"

"As a matter of fact, it did. It could have ended a whole lot worse," Snake commented.

"Oh, and how could have it been worse?" Alex snapped. He grew silent as the doctor came in.

"I'm going to be your doctor, but you can just call me Sir. You must be Monotaro," he said as he glanced at the boy before nodding over to Alex. "That would make you Cub... and," he stopped to glance at his file before he glared at Snake, "Oh, you're here too?"

"I am filling in for Mr. Johnson on Niles' behalf, and for Wolf on Alex's behalf," Snake said, frowning inwardly at the use of their slave names.

Alex had to bite his tongue to remain silent. Finally, after two seconds of silence, he snapped, "It's Alex. Not Cub."

The doctor gave a glance towards Snake as he asked, "Would you like to wait outside?"

"No, I'm good," Snake commented.

"Oh, so you want a front class show?" the doctor said.

Snake just raised an eyebrow.

Monotaro bit his lip. "What are you g-going to do, make us t-take off our cl-clothes or something?"

"Why? Is that something Mr. Cooper makes you do?"

Alex rolled his eyes. "No. Snake's not that way. Are you?"

"You should learn to respect your elders, brat," the doctor spat. It was only then that Alex recognized him as Steven - something that Snake couldn't have known, as he'd not seen Steven. Snake had been "out of town" (away doing mission work) when Steven had come in. Alex paled dramatically as Steven concluded, "Especially your owner."

"Oh. My..." Snake mumbled as though he had just met the most crooked doctor in the building... which he had.

"You are their owner, right?" he asked.

"We're actually human beings," Alex told him. "Mr. Johnson adopted Niles and Wolf - James Synitra- adopted me."

"Was I talking to you, you little fucking -" Steven yelled at him. He was interrupted.

"We're done here," Snake said coldly. "Niles, Alex, let's go."

"This so called, Mr. Johnson, is lying. Adoptions with slaves are null and void. Wolf is a slave so therefore cannot adopt Cub, or anyone for that matter. I want to know who your owners are so I can contact them," Steven said as he moved to block the door.

"There are no such things as slaves," Alex informed him. "Study up on your government, sir," he spat. "You can fucking go to hell. I'm not telling you who my 'owner' is because I don't have one."

Steven roughly slapped Alex, who fell back but was easily caught by Snake. "Would you like to be charged with assault on a minor? I could have that arranged, a close friend of mine is on the police force. So unless you want to be charged as a slave owner, you will let us walk out of here and never mention word of this again."

Monotaro helped Alex sit up. Alex gingerly reached up and touched his cheek; it was bleeding. "Some fucking doctor you are," Monotaro snapped,not recognizing Steven in the slightest. Alex looked at him and quickly shook his head, silently mouthing, 'shut up!'

"I am a great doctor with humans, but slaves don't deserve such treatment," he said as he pulled a gun from his pocket. "Now are you going to cooperate, or will I have to contact Mattand inform him of this disruption?"

Snake thought for a moment, "I'll do it. What do you need?" He fully planned on overpowering the doctor and coming back for the kids as soon as he could.

"Handcuff Monotaro and Cub. They need taken back to their owners," Steven responded cheerfully. Too cheerfully, Snake thought.

"Fuck you," Cub snarled as he felt the handcuffs wrapped around his wrists.

Snake handcuffed him before quickly tapping 'trust me' on his arm in fast morse code before turning to Monotaro.

"That's more like it," the doctor commented as he casually waved his gun around. "Don't you enjoy having slaves again? They take the strain off of everything."

"I'm a human being!" Monotaro struggled against the handcuffs. He thought he could trust 'Snake.' After all, Eagle did, right? He winced, thinking about Nick. Damn, Nick was going to be so mad. A tear slipped down his cheek.

Steven smirked. "Tough luck, you're staying here. Make a sound and you're dead. Snake, you and I have some... things to discuss."

"What 'things'," Snake asked as he grabbed Alex by the shoulder.

"Get off of me," Alex hissed.

"Things best discussed in private."

Snake drew himself up. "Will I be able to take them home with me?"

"We will see how the discussion goes. Come on, we don't have all day," Steven remarked as he reached for the door, before glancing at the two prisoners. "You two are to stay here."

Monotaro was about to say something but saw Alex shaking his head and fell silent.

Snake crossed his arms. "Their adoptive parents are going to be upset."

"Do I look like I give a fuck about the thoughts of a slaves' 'adoptive parents'?" The doctor closed the door that was across the hall.

"You should. Mr. Johnson is an SAS member. Why else would I dare to cater to them and their interests?" Snake snapped. "I don't want to be arrested."

"That is the least of your worries. What do you think Matt will do if I contact him? Hmm."

"I think Matt already knows the situation," Snake sneered. He decided to chance a lie. "He gave me my orders."

"Really? So if I were to call him up right now. He would confirm it?" Steven said as he pulled out a cell phone.

Snake sighed. "Why the fuck don't you trust me?"

"Why should I? You act like you actually care for those two brats," Steven said, "I'm talking to Matt, I'm his brother after all."

Snake rolled his eyes. "I don't have to listen to this shit. I'm done here." He maneuvered his way around the man, fully intending to go back to the two teenagers.

"I don't think so you traitor." Steven took the but of his gun, and before Snake could do anything, slammed it in the back of Snake's head.

Snake toppled to the floor and fell unconscious.

"What are you doing?" Monotaro asked Cub as he was shifting in his handcuffs.

"Getting out of here," Alex responded as he found the q-tip. Ten seconds later, and he was free. He helped Monotaro out of his handcuffs. "Take a deep breath, Monotaro - we'll be fine." He had a feeling Snake was just trying to play the doctor and get them out of their safely. Still, he had to act.

"Wh-What makes you so sure 'Snake' is on our side?" Monotaro questioned as he rubbed his chaffed wrists.

"Trust me," Cub said, thinking of all the "mother henning" he had seen Snake do. "Just trust me. Let's get out of here. Is the door unlocked?"

"I...don't think he would leave it unlocked for us," Monotaro said.

Cub tried it and grinned. "Let's go. Hurry!" he hissed to Monotaro. "Do you have your cell phone?"

"Umm," Monotaro said as he reached into his pocket. He retrieved his phone and as the battery was low. "It's here, but the battery is low."

Cub swore. "I have mine," he said. He turned it on. "Full power. Let's get the hell out of here and call Joe."

Monotaro nodded. "His number is 995-3939."

Alex smirked as he punched it in. The two maneuvered further away from the building. "We've got to get under cover," he muttered. "See any place we can get away? What about that McDonald's, do you have any money?" Alex knew that it would be better for them to hide among people. He pulled out his wallet, taking out the $15 gift card Wolf had given him right before he had gone missing. "Never mind, I have something..."

"Wouldn't it be better if we just hid somewhere?" Monotaro mumbled as he followed Alex to the McDonald's across the street.

"We are hiding somewhere," Alex grumbled as he waited for Joe to pick up. "We're hiding in plain sight. What do you want?"

"What... what do you mean?"

"Never mind," Alex muttered as he held the phone against his ear. "Wait, you talk to Joe, okay? I'm going to get us something to eat."

"Okay..." he said as he brought the phone to his ear. "Hello...Joe?"

"You're the one who called, but yes this is Joe. That you, Niles?"

"Yes, Alex told me to talk to you..." Monotaro left off glancing around to try and find Alex.

Alex groaned as he waved Monotaro over, having finished the boys' order. "Niles, give me the phone."

The gum-chewing clerk stared at the teenage boys. "Shouldn't you be in school?" she asked.

Alex snorted, then commented, "It's three o'clock in the afternoon and we're homeschooled," Alex informed her as he turned back towards the phone. "Hey, Joe? Yeah... We kinda... ran into a problem..." He glanced out the window, relieved as he saw no sigh of Matt or his cronies, or Steven.

"What kind of problem?" Joe asked.

"A so-big-we-don't-know-if-Snake-turned-traitor-or-not problem... Can you come pick us up?" Alex questioned. "We're by the doctor's... it's a long story and I don't want to explain it... in front of people..."

The clerk rolled her eyes and snorted. "Teenagers. So over dramatic. Here's your food."

Alex took the food on the tray, keeping it balanced while also balancing the phone on her ear. Monotaro asked, "Alex, what's over dramatic?"

Don't shoot him, Alex. He can understand words, just not in different contexts. Shoot Matt instead. "Remind me to shoot Matt later," he said half-heartedly. "Joe? Can you pick us up? Monotaro, can you get us drinks? I'll be over there."

Monotaro nodded and grabbed the two cups. Walking over to the machine he realized he forgot to ask Alex what he wanted, glancing over to see him in conversation with Joe on the phone. Sighing, he got Coke, hoping that was the right choice. He assumed he could always dump it out and start over. He hadn't been to the restaurant in years.

Now... as for what he wanted... he filled the cup with ice and then decided on Sprite, which looked like water. Grabbing the two drinks he made his way over to the corner Alex had picked out.

"This is yours," Alex said, gesturing at the lunch. "I hope you like it. Joe? Yeah. I'm still here... No, I can't really explain it... oh, for fuck's sake, Joe. Snake tried to help kidnap us, okay?"

The people at the next table looked over at them with a raised eyebrow. Monotaro bit his bottom lip. Alex rolled his eyes and covered the mouthpiece. "Sorry. I'm explaining the next part in a fantasy game."

They rolled their eyes and resumed eating. Alex decided he really did hate other people. "Joe?"

"I would ask that you stop screaming in my ear about kidnappings, since you are at a restaurant and people can probably hear you," Joe told him.

"...How soon can you pick us up? And don't worry, I got that covered. Monotaro, if you want ketchup, you can have this," Alex said, offering him the ketchup cup.

Monotaro blinked, trying to remember the last time he'd had ketchup. "What's that?"

"Just get here as soon as you can, please," Alex said. Do not kill Monotaro, do not kill Monotaro... "How soon will that be?"

"It depends on if you can hold out. Traffic is pretty tight right now, but I know a few back ways. I'll be there soon."

"We can probably hold out but I don't want to take the chance," Alex responded. "I'll see you in twenty. We're at the McDonald's." He gave the address and smirked as the couple walked away. "What were you asking about ketchup, Monotaro? It's not poison."

"Just keep your head down and stop yelling absurd things like kidnapping in public," Joe advised him.

"You were the one who kept pushing," Alex said as he hung up the phone. "What were you saying about ketchup? I only heard half of it..."

"Well, what is it again?" Monotaro asked as he looked at the little cup of red sauce.

"You dip your french fries in it. Just try it, it won't poison you," Alex encouraged. "Damn, did you get out at all with Matt?"

"Well... define 'out'," Monotaro mumbled as he ate a fry with ketchup.

"Like..." Alex groaned as he closed his eyes, eating his own fries. "When Wolf gets back we are giving you a dictionary. Actually, I bet Joe could hook us up with one."

"I'm not stupid, am I?" Monotaro asked.

Alex bit his tongue to keep from screaming obscenities at Matt. "No... just a bit deprived," he said. "Blame Matt, not yourself. What'd you get to drink?"

"Water."

"Really?" Alex asked, frowning as he grabbed the cup and tasted it. "Eww... that's not water. That's sprite."

"It looks like water..." he said as he took the cup back and tried it. He coughed and held it in as he tried not to choke on the pop. "You're right, that is not water."

"Try some of the good stuff," Alex said with a teasing glance. For a minute, they were normal schoolboys at McDonald's, they were free; not slaves. "Here." He handed Monotaro his cup. "And eat your burger. We're going to have to flee when Joe gets here."

Monotaro nodded as he tried the Coke he got for Alex, "Where are we going to go again?" He ate some of his burger too.

"Away from here..." Alex ran mentally through his list of options. "Uh... probably back with Eagle... since Wolf is still missing."

"Okay." Monotaro took another bite of his food. "Are all doctors... crazy?" he asked only remembering the worst doctors.

"Nah. Snake actually is a medical doctor. And I don't think he went dark side. I just think he was trying to keep us alive. What do you think?"

"Well, he did fix your arm, right? So he can't be all bad... then again... Snake also threatened Wolf."

"When did he do that?" Alex asked, trying to remember that. The K-Unit threatened each other all the time. He mildly wondered what the context was.

"When Wolf hurt his arm, he threatened to tell Ben if he didn't cooperate."

"Did you ever consider that was the only way Wolf was going to cooperate? He can be pretty stubborn when it comes to his injuries."

"Yeah... it's just hard to tell who the good guys are now," Monotaro told him.

Eagle chose that moment to bound into the restaurant. "Oohh, Coke," he said, eyeing Alex's drink. "You boys ready to leave? And hi Niles, I let you on your own for one afternoon and you get kidnapped?"

"I-I didn't mean to! Snake said we had to come, and-and then -"

"Niles... We'll talk about it in the car," Eagle said, seeing the weird looks. "Let's go... Hey, Cub... Can I have some of that coke?"

"No," Alex told him, taking a final sip before throwing it in the trash. He rolled his eyes for the sixth hundredth time that day and snapped, "He's not drunk, I promise."

The trio walked out the door. "The car's over here," Eagle said, gesturing towards Joe's police car. "Niles... Niles... Monotaro!" he finally snapped, worried.

"Sorry, Sir," Monotaro mumbled to quietly for Eagle to hear as he walked towards them.

Eagle frowned, noticing the change. "Niles? You okay?"

"Yes..." he said unsure of himself.

Yeah, right, Eagle thought, unsure of what to do.

* * *

Challenge:

What are they going to talk about in the car? How will Eagle help Niles? Why is Niles so stressed?

Did Snake really go darkside, or was he just trying to save the kids? What's happening with Wolf and Ben?

Thanks for your reviews!


	27. What Childhood?

_Thanks to EVERYONE who took the time to review. It means so much to us! I'd like to especially thank TheAwesomeJellyBean, almatyrusla, and meapinghorse, and IFoundAPickle for going back and reviewing the chapters they haven't read yet to get a faster update. You all are so inspiring! We're currently at 415 reviews; 450 will net an early update; otherwise, updates will be on Monday, sneak peaks on Sunday. You all ROCK. Thanks to** NightmareWorld**, for her help with beta-ing. Thanks to **WolfletteMoon**, who took the time to go over the chapters to make sure the were consistant. Thanks to **Samayoutamashi** for her help and support. _

_Torn Apart Paper Dinosaur, is there anything else you'd like to add?_

_Dinosaur: We'd like to take the time out to thank all of our awesome reviewers. You are what inspire us to drop everthing we have and continue writing when we're both on chat! _

_Even though you all came up with AWESOME and great feedback, I want to menion something that almatyruslan said about Niles, becuase it's extremely relevant (and helped us understand our own character better). Here's what she said: _

_Niles is stressed because he doesn't understand what he is supposed to do to "act normal". He has been deprived of many basic needs and socialization while under Matt's "care"; chronologically he is like 14 you said...developmentally, he is much younger...probably around six to eight at the oldest. For a child in an institutional setting (orphanage, foster care, or jail-think Matt-), it is understood that for every three months that a child is in the system, they "lose" one month development. Niles doesn't seem to have been that old when he was taken from his mother...and Matt was not the type to give him freedom to explore and experience his world. For all intent and purposes, he is still an older toddler with a toddler's view of the world and the language to boot. His verbal, social, and educational skills are lacking seriously. His world is changing fast and often (between Matt, Joe, Eagle and Wolf) and each person has a different set of expectations... Eagle will help Niles by being consistent and not making him feel dumb because he doesn't understand a word or concept. _

_I thought it was really relevant, so I wanted to include it here for the readers. Enough rambling-on with the story! _

* * *

_A_lex frowned, glancing at Niles, wondering what was running through the teen's head. He felt bad for the kid, and knew that there was a reason why the kid was terrified of well… everything. "Niles, you know he's not going to beat you right?"

Niles took a step back, "But... but... he's mad at me. It was my fault we got kidnapped!"

"Let's get in the car so nobody else gets kidnapped," Eagle said as he gestured towards Alex and Niles, not having heard the previous conversation. Alex slid into the back seat. Niles hesitantly slid in next to him. "I'm sorry, Eagle," he said. "Don't arrest Cub, or beat him either. It's my entire fault if I just paid attention -" he started.

"Niles-" but Eagle was interrupted by Joe, who started the car, and Niles, who continued on.

"All of you need to calm down," Joe told everyone, buckling his seatbelt. He wanted to talk to Niles but right at that minute he was focused on getting out of there without them getting shot. "We can continue this once we get back." And they'd make sure to do that, too.

Niles sighed as he sat back in his seat next to Alex and stared out the window. He didn't know what to say to Eagle. Nothing would help his case. And everyone seemed to be turning these days, so he guessed Alex was really the only one who he could truly talk too. Unless he was set up...

"Niles," Alex hissed, noticing his friend's downcast face even as Eagle answered the phone, "It's not your fault."

Niles shook his head and explained, "It is my fault. If it is not, why is Eagle so mad at me -"

"You really think he's mad at you?" Alex asked. Good God, and Matt had said he didn't want to give Niles brain damage. Fine, Alex thought, solve the not-wanting-to-give-him-brain-damage-problem by giving him scars that would last the rest of his life. "Eagle, are you mad at Niles and I?" he asked.

Niles hit Alex on the arm and glared at him. "What are you doing?" He was glad that Eagle didn't hear Alex, as he was preoccupied by the phone.

"Getting your answer for you. What do you think I'm doing?"

"Could you stop? He's obviously mad and you're just going to make it worse!"

Alex blinked. "What, you really think he's serious, don't you? Joe, is Eagle mad?" he asked.

"Yes, at himself. He was pissed when he heard what happened to you guys. The whole way here he kept mumbling about you two and hoping you were alright. He's not mad at you, just worried," Joe explained.

"See? Now can you please explain to Niles that Eagle won't beat him?"

"Are you right out asking him to beat me?" Niles panicked.

"No! I'm asking him to explain that for the love of GOD, nobody is going to beat you!" Alex said. "You're safe now Niles - Niles - don't you get that?"

"Well, things change," he said.

"Joe," Alex said, leaning toward the front seat, "When we get to the station, can we get Niles a copy of all the child abuse and slavery laws, as well as a dictionary?"

"I'm not stupid. I know Matt is above the laws so learning them won't do any good," Niles told Alex.

"Nobody is above the law, right, Joe? And you are not stupid, Niles... you just need a dictionary."

"All laws are meant to be followed by everyone, including Matt. Alex is right, though, you're not stupid. If you think you are, blame Matt."

"You just told me I was stupid... I'm so confused," Niles ran a hand through his hair in frustration.

"No, we told you that you aren't stupid. There's a difference," Alex told Niles.

"What's the difference, I'm still stupid, right?"

"No... you aren't stupid," Alex said, running his hand through his hair in frustration. "Joe?"

"Niles, you are not stupid. Anything but, blame Matt for the lack of education he didn't give you."

Alex nodded. "Yes, blame Matt."

"What am I supposed to do, blame Matt for everything?"

"Yes," Alex said, his voice trailing off. Eagle hung up the phone and didn't hesitate to notice Niles' terrified face. "Niles," he said.

"Y-yeah?" Niles asked, stuttering as he looked at Eagle.

"I'm not mad at you."

Niles nodded, looking unconvinced.

"I'm not going to beat you."

Niles frowned even further.

"I'm not like Matt. You don't think I'm like Matt, do you?" Eagle asked.

Niles shook his head. "N-no."

"Have I ever hurt you before?"

Niles thought hard, frowning. "N-no… But why don't you? Sir?"

"Because not all adults hurt teenagers because they do something wrong, Niles. And you didn't do anything wrong here. This is not your fault," he said. "I want you to understand that, okay?"

Niles hesitantly nodded. "S-Snake… do you think he turned darkside, Alex? You said something about him maybe not…"

Eagle's eyes narrowed, but he turned towards Alex. Alex sighed. "No, Niles. I think he was just trying to help us out."

"Help us out? He handcuffed me!"

Alex held up his hand. "I know, but hear me out. That was Steven in that area. Snake hadn't cooperated, right then and right there, his cover could have been blown. And then, if his cover would have been blown, he wouldn't be able to help us get out of the situation, which I think is what he wanted to do. Besides, he told me to trust him—"

"Matt told me to never trust a person who says trust me," Niles said, perfectly straight face.

Alex sighed. "If Matt said the sky was a dark purple color, would you believe him?"

"No—"

"If Matt said that frogs could eat people, would you believe him?"

"No—"

"If Matt told you that humans can stand 400 degree heat, would you believe him?"

"No—"

"So, do you think you should believe everything, or anything Matt says?" Alex asked.

"Matt didn't actually say any of those things though," Niles pointed out reasonably.

"Okay, what's the most outlandish thing that Matt said?"

Thinking hard, Niles said, "He said cars could fly once."

"Do you think that's true?"

"No," Niles responded.

"So why do you think that everything Matt says is true?" Alex questioned, raising his eyebrow.

Niles bit his lip. "I guess… it doesn't have to be," he responded finally.

Eagle spoke up. "Did I ever tell you the story of what happened during our refresher training, Alex?"

"Wait, wait, you mean you have to go back to Hell for refreshers?"

Eagle nodded. "Yup. So we were in RTI – that's resistance to interrogation, Niles, where they train you to protect yourself from the enemy—" that wasn't the actual truth, and he knew it, but he wasn't about to tell Niles that it was where people tortured each other for information when the kid was already so upset. "And I got really injured," he added. Someone had snuck into the camp and had taken over resistance to interrogation and run it as the enemy. That had been… quite the scene. "And Snake knew he'd get in trouble for patching me up, but he did anyway." That was true. The men had been threatened that if they helped their comrade, they'd be shot. Snake, ever the medic, had ignored the man and had treated not only Eagle, but several other SAS units as well. He'd gotten shot for his trouble.

"That doesn't necessarily make him good though," Niles said.

"No, but it does mean that I don't think he wanted to hurt you guys," Eagle replied.

"Just give him a chance, Niles. If he's truly guilty, I'll help you beat him up," Alex volunteered.

Niles shot Alex a weird look. "That… works…" then he turned back to Eagle. "So you're really not mad?"

Eagle shook his head. "I don't know how many times I have to tell you, but nope, not mad."

* * *

Snake groaned in frustration as he felt his handcuffs rattle against him. He shouldn't have taken Niles and Cub to the doctor. But he'd felt like he'd needed to. They both needed to be checked out, and he couldn't do that very well. It was true that he had the medical knowledge and could have done most of it at home, he knew they would never listen to him anyway. He groaned and hoped he didn't have a concussion; his head hurt like hell.

He sighed as he smacked the handcuffs against the floor again. SAS specialists were trained to break free from their handcuffs. But they needed something to break free from their handcuffs with.

Honestly, Snake hadn't been worried with taking Cub and Niles to the doctor. He'd expected the freak-out for sure. But his friend had been in the SAS! Why did he handcuff him and hurt the kids? The sergeant was going to hear about this, that was for sure.

The door was opened, and Snake looked up to see yet another gun pointed at him. Only this time, it wasn't Steven, who he had learned was Matt's brother. He was beginning to think that this was one of Matt's elaborate attempts to figure out who he was loyal too. Snake glanced at the man twice and did a double take. "What are you doing here, Panther?" he demanded.

"Helping out in the ring, just like you are, trying to determine what side you're on," Panther responded.

"You're here too?"

"Yes, I am…" Panther trailed off, and Snake felt like something was wrong. Panther had been in D-Unit before he'd failed to make it through selection.

"Yes," Snake said, "We do."

With that, his friend "helped" him into the car. Snake had to duck his head to avoid being smacked.

Within seconds, his hands were released. Snake rubbed at his chafed wrists as his friend pulled out of the parking lot. Snake had to quickly react. "What the fuck is going on?" he hissed.

"Well, as if you don't know? Don't make me laugh!"

"...Just fill me in please... I've been out of the loop." Apparently, Snake thought.

"Well while I was out and about, you let the kids get away. Smart thinking that was, but really you could have waited. My 'boss' will have my head if he figures out the truth," he told Snake.

"I let the kids get away? We were in two separate rooms!"

"Which is why I congratulate you. You know Snake, I never took you for a man of action, but you have obviously proved me wrong. So where are the kids?"

Snake gritted his teeth. "What part of 'you put us in two fucking different rooms' and 'knocked me out' do you fail to understand? I swear to God the sergeant isn't going to be happy when he hears about this."

"Really? 'Cause the Matt told me to take whatever precautions to catch people like you."

"Well I guess the sergeant will just have to straighten that out," Snake snapped. He sighed. "...Look, why do you think I'm the bad guy?"

"Woah! Dude, you are not the bad guy, more like an accomplice of Matt. Though you did go pretty far by taking those kids, now I'll ask again, where are they?" Panther demanded. "Because you know Matt wants to know!"

"Taking the kids? I took them to the doctor's appointment! You kidnapped them!"

"How did they get into your custody in the first place?"

"They aren't in my custody. Eagle adopted Niles and Wolf adopted Alex ," Snake responded.

"You mean Cub," he corrected him.

"Right... who also goes by Cub. Don't you remember that kid who came to the compound we both know as hell?"

"Mhhmm, have never heard of that one before. Though it certainly suits the place. Why would a slave be allowed in anyway?"

"...He's a human being, not a fucking slave. That's it, I'm taking you back to the sergeant,"

"Go ahead. But while you're at it, can you confess to him? It wastes time writing everything down..."

"When will you get that I'm not fucking guilty?" Snake said. He wanted to take his head and slam it against the wall.

"When those kids get the freedom they deserve."

Snake growled in frustration. This was just not his fucking day. "But if you want their freedom, aren't we on the same side?"

"That depends," Panther responded as he flashed him a grin, "are you on Matt's side, or not?"

Snake snarled and reached out to strike him but was met by the divider in the backseat. Panther smirked, and Snake groaned. Great, just what he wanted. "What do you think?" he asked.

Panther sighed. "I'm leaning towards not, which is bad. Matt won't be happy about this… and my loyalties are to him and Steven…"

"Then why go through training at Breacon Beacons?" Snake demanded angrily.

"Oh, I thought I'd make a difference, I don't know. When I saw the good Matt did with kids, giving foster kids homes, I had to sign up. The drugs were just an added benefit," he added. He shook his head. "So, you're not with Matt… I don't like this."

As Snake sat there and sulked in the back seat, debating how he could kill Panther in his sleep without leaving any evidence, Panther picked up his phone and dialed a number.

"Hey... yeah, of course... no, his morals are worse than that other guy... Exactly what I said!"

Snake blocked the one sided conversation out and started to form a plan. He said he knew the sergeant, which could very well be a lie just as much as a truth. However if he was on their side, why did he treat Niles and Cub like that? Like they were less than humans, which was wrong. And he agreed to it, and that's where things started to blur. If this guy accused him of stealing those two, he didn't even want to think about what could have happened, because he certainly didn't contribute to helping them escape or anything.

"...I can't tolerate him anymore, he's fucking on their side, don't you get it? That's the whole damn problem. He's turned traitor towards Matt, or maybe. He did help me with the kids." Panther listened to the phone. "Okay, buddy, I'll take him too you."

Snake's feeling of unease grew. "Who is your buddy?" he questioned, raising one eyebrow.

"My buddy just doesn't hand his name out willy nilly. You need to be in his circle to know it," he told him as he accelerated.

Gritting his teeth, Snake waited for a moment to make his move.

And worried about Cub and Niles with every passing second.

* * *

It was late when they got to Eagle's house, and Alex was tired, but he was eating outside with Niles anyway. They were eating on the front porch steps, chewing away somewhat happily. Niles spoke up. "I'm sorry about your brother," he said.

"He's not dead yet," Alex reminded Niles. He sighed as he looked at his sandwich, and wondered if Wolf was eating. "Thanks."

Niles bit his lip. "I'm not used to this."

"Used to what?"

"Being able to speak my mind, not being beaten, not having drugs shoved down my throat."

"Feels pretty good, doesn't it?"

"Yeah." Niles glanced at him. "I've lived my whole life with the threat of being beaten constantly over my head. My mother brought me from one of her friends because she needed a guy, she said. Probably for the same reason as Wolf, to pick up beer bottles when she was drunk... I'm not used to... to..."

"Freedom?" Alex spoke up, giving him the word.

Niles nodded. "Yeah. That." He paused. "Did you hear that? It sounded like a car."

Alex scowled. "But who would be coming here? Eagle and Joe are inside, and unless it's Snake-shit, get inside, it might be Matt!" he said, seeing the car approach. "How did he find us here? Never mind, don't answer that, go get Eagle!"

"What the hell are you doing?" Niles demanded.

"Calling 9-9-9 and ducking for cover!"

"But Joe's here!"

"I'm getting him backup! Get inside!" Alex yelled, running for the dark night of the forest. More than getting Joe backup, he was also trying to provide them with a distraction technique.

Two bullets whizzed past him, and he ducked for cover. "Come out, come out, wherever you are! I see you!" an all-too-familiar voice cooed.

_Why does he even know we're here?_ Alex thought to himself. He knew Joe hadn't betrayed them; Eagle wouldn't either. There was no time to ponder that now though-he had to focus on getting away.

"Little kiddy! I see you! I see you!"

Another bullet. Alex groaned and hit the grass, trying to pull out his cell phone. His fumbling fingers dialed 9-9-9 and he spoke, "Backup needed, an officer has been shot." He didn't think Joe had been shot, but wanted some way to encourage them to get their faster. He gave the address and tossed the phone before starting to roll closer towards the house and safety.

"I see you!" Matt called out. Another bullet. "Last warning, Alex! Surrender now, or I'll kill Wolf!"

"No, don't-don't do that," Alex said, standing up slowly, not willing to take the chance that Matt was telling the truth. "Leave him alone!"

"You little-why did you try and hide from me?" Matt demanded as he grabbed Alex roughly by his shirt and shoved him closer to the car. Alex groaned when he realized it was a police car. He was thrown in and the door clicked shut.

Matt sped away, humming happily, as if everything was right with life.

_This was so not good_, Alex thought to himself, _this was so not good. _

* * *

Alex faught nausuea even as Matt dragged him from the hallway. Matt had drugged him with something to fight lower his resistance, and as a result, he attempted to fall to the floor. Only that didn't work so well. The car ride had been too long for Alex and he felt sick. He just wanted to be free from Matt, but that didn't look like it was happening anytime soon.

"Let me go! You're hurting me, let me go! Stop it!" Alex screamed, fighting even as Matt clenched his wrist more tightly.

"Let him go!" Wolf lept off his bed, furious. How dare Matt hurt his brother? He was going to throttle him. "You leave him alone, you son of a bitch! How dare you hurt him!"

"Shut your mouth, and sit your ass back down before I do something that even I would regret!" Matt snapped, and momentarily let go of his hold on Alex go as he reached in his pocket and pressed the button connected to Wolf's 'anklet, watching in amusement as Wolf struggled from the pain.

"Leave my Dad alone!" Alex screamed, trying even more so to push against Matt. "Leave him alone! I hate you!"

"Well gee, glad we have that covered because I hate you too. Also, you two are both slaves, and regardless of blood relation, I don't care what you have to say about the other. Do we have an understanding?" he said as he upped the voltage on the button. Wolf, already on the floor, gasped out in pain. He might have normally been able to withstand more, but he'd been fed virtually nothing and given little to drink after his capture, and he knew that played a huge role in his ability to fight back.

He fucking hated this case.

"No!" Alex said, his temper flaring. "Leave Wolf alone! Please, don't hurt him! You're hurting my father!"

"One slave cannot, and will not, be cared by for another slave," Matt deadpanned.

Wolf finally pulled himself up. "Leave Alex alone." _Or I'll kill you right this second. _He glanced around the room, trying to figure out exactly what his chances were of escaping when Matt spoke up again.

"You actually think you're in the correct position right now to be giving _me_ demands? Well, I guess now that you back talked I would punish you more, however considering you two are DNA related, I have to torture him as well...wouldn't want Cub to be left out, now would we Wolf?" Matt smirked.

"Wolf is a better father to me than you ever will be," Alex snapped. He wasn't exactly sure how that fit into the argument but he was sick and tired of Matt hurting Wolf. "Leave him _alone_. He never wanted to date Ben, you made him, so if that's what this all is about-" he stopped, feeling foolish. He'd started to believe Joe's cover story for the minute, even though he knew it was false.

Mildly, he wondered if life would be easier if - he stopped that train of thought as he dropped to the ground, crying out in pain.

"Don't you _dare_ put an anklet on my son!" Wolf said. He wanted Matt to believe that they were father and son, not brothers. He knew that Matt would go insane and probably kill one of them if he found out they were lying.

"Oh don't worry Cub, I'm not your father, just your Master. I wouldn't want to be your father in a million years, after all he's on the floor and he's about to get plummeted again, right Wolf?"

Before Wolf could say anything, the door opened. A tall man, probably in his mid-forties, came in. "You called, Matt? I'm glad you did - it's been so _long_ since I've had to talk to you! And who are our latest _friends?" _he asked, taking Alex by the jaw and yanking the teen's face upward to face him.

Alex spat in his face. "I don't know, because I'm not your _friend_," he said. "The only person I'm a friend of here is my father."

"Oh, you got the whole pack? What is this, a family reunion?" he grabbed Alex by his shirt, and smacked him across the cheek.

"Leave him alone!"

"Did I say you could speak?" the man growled, before Wolf interrupted him. Matt had opened his mouth, but Wolf spoke first.

"I don't need your permission to speak! You're not my owner. Let us go or I'll get Joe to arrest you both." Wolf suspected they were in another country and was hoping that the man would say something along the lines of, 'we're in another country, country x,' and provide them with a valuable clue.

Matt thought for a second, before looking at Wolf, "You're right, he's not your owner," he said pointing to the other man, "but I am. I could certainly take Cub away to some other country, and you would never see him again."

"I have his custody, _not you_!" Wolf spat, furious and fed up with Matt's stupid and fake slave ownership.

"Actually since you're a slave, you don't own shit-"

"I didn't say I owned him! I said I have custody of him! Slavery is not legal!"

"Custody, slavery, does it really matter here? Don't answer that I don't want to hear your stupid remark, now where was I? Oh, yeah you see here in Afghanistan, this is the law. And it doesn't matter what you say, or do, we own you. I am not taking a slave's word over the Government's. Would you like to see a document?" Without a reply he pulled out a piece of paper and shoved it in Wolf's face.

Wolf closed his eyes. "I'm not reading it."

"I didn't know he couldn't read," he said glancing at Matt.

Matt rolled his eyes. "I didn't either, that is new information - did you become illiterate while you were away, Wolf?"

Wolf refused to respond, knowing any reply would trigger his anklet.

"Should we tutor him?"

Matt raised an eyebrow. "You _want_ him literate?"

Alex launched himself in front of Matt. "Leave my Dad alone!"

"Fine, I hurt you to get to your father, then I beat him. It is a win win situation."

Alex closed his eyes. This was so not good.

* * *

DISCLAIMER: SLAVERY IS NOT LEGAL ANYWHERE IN THE WORLD. OTHER DISCLAIMER: DON'T BELIEVE ANYTHING MATT SAYS IS LEGAL IS ACTUALLY LEGAL. Except for maybe breathing...

Challegnes: What is Matt going to do now that he has both Alex and Wolf? Will they be able to stay together, or will they be seperated?

How is Niles going to handle Alex missing? How old is Niles mentally?

~~ Enjoy! Remember, 450 gets an early update! We know you can do i! Guest reviews count, reviews for chapters you've read have count, simply saying good job counts... You all ROCK!


	28. Air, I Get It

Wolf finally spoke up, knowing he had to end Matt's reign of terror before it started. "Please leave Alex alone."

"Oh, and what would I get out of it? I really don't think anything is as satisfying as beating Cub, that is his name, be sure to remember it. Keep in mind that only saying slaves names is what is expected here, if you use anything else beyond this point, both of you will be punished. I might sell him as a Bacha Bazi. Do you know what that is, Wolf?"

Wolf paled, and Alex winced. That couldn't be good.

"Some old man would pay quite handsomely to get to use you for sex-" Matt began, only to get cut off by Wolf.

_I've got to get his attention off of Alex but how_? "Leave Alex and I alone. My name is James, not Wolf. I am not, nor will I ever be, your slave." He wanted to make his offense big enough so that they took their anger out on him and left Alex alone. "Leave Alex alone for God's sake, he didn't do anything to you. I'll do anything if you let him go."

"Anything?" Matt asked.

Wolf glared at Alex, the look on his face saying, _don't you dare fuck this up_. When he saw Alex slowly, invisibly, nod, he hung his head, trying to appear submissive. "Anything." Of course, this would also be dependant on him being able to beat the smack out of Matt to escape later. He was not sure how long he could himself to obey.

"Excellent, now that we're on the same page, I need to tell you a few ground rules. One, no back talking, if it occurs you will be back handed. Two, you are not allowed to speak, even to Cub. If you do, we'll lock you and him in solitary overnight - a separate solitary. Three, don't call Cub your son, he belongs to us now. If you break that rule then you won't see him ever again. If you break any of these, Cub will not be allowed to eat for three days."

"I thought you were leaving my son out of this!" Wolf cried in anguish before he realized his mistake. "I'm sorry - I'm sorry -please do not punish Alex..."

"Hi Matt, you called?" Ben asked, sticking his head in the room.

"Ah, yes I did," Matt told him. "Why don't you come in and help me with these two."

"Sure - you said something about transferring Alex's adoption to me, since Wolf was a slave and could not legally adopt a kid?" Ben asked as he grabbed Alex's shoulder.

Wolf paled. Ben was really taking Alex away from him. Was that a good thing? He prayed Ben was still legitimate.

"Well, now that we're all here, we should make everything clear. Ben now owns you Cub, he legally adopted you. I in turn own Wolf, and you're forbidden to see each other. This is Afghanistan, and slaves are separated unless one has custody over the other, which in this case is not true. Wolf is no longer your father, Cub," Matt told the two of them.

"The fuck Ben owns me! Wolf is my b-dad," Alex said, catching himself just in time. "You guys don't own squat, slavery is against the law!"

"Oh I assure you slavery is legal, especially in Afghanistan.* So in other words, you have no say whatsoever in this. You are owned now Cub, and whether you like it or not we are actually rescuing you. If they managed to figure out Wolf having custody over you, then he would be arrested, if not killed, and you would still be caught in slavery."

Wolf glanced at Ben, who shook his head so slightly even Alex missed it. He guessed Ben had some plan in store for this or at least he prayed that he did. The other man had gone away and it was just Matt and Ben in the room. "Is the bastard taking my son away now?" he spat. He needed to talk to Alex before they left. "You can't do this-"

"Actually he can," Ben pointed to Matt, who had then slipped his hand into his pocket again, his finger lingering on the button. "Because Matt owns you now Wolf, not me."

Wolf hung his head. "Sir, can I please see my son before I go?" He was changing his tactic - he had to act submissive or this would never work. "Alone? For just five minutes? Please?"

He had to slip his plan to Alex.

"If you work in the drug room for a week, then it's a deal. However, cut it down to three minutes," Matt said.

Wolf almost lost it but quickly reined in his temper. _He knew what he was doing; he was getting out of this god-awful place_. "Yes, sir."

"Whoa, when did Wolf start following commands?" Ben asked lightly as the two of them walked out, leaving Alex and Wolf alone, for exactly three minutes, perhaps more if Ben could keep Matt talking.

"Wolf?" Alex asked, searching his face for some kind of order. _Anything to tell him that there was some plan Wolf had_. Alex wasn't stupid, and he was smarter than either Ben or Mat at the moment, he thought as he looked at the wall. Wolf was acting this way for a _reason_. He just had to figure out what it was.

"Cub," Wolf said as he hugged his brother tightly. Although this case was driving him up the wall he was so glad they had taken it. He never would have found one of his brothers if not for that. Wolf had often wondered what had happened to his mother's drug babies that she'd sold. At least one of them still lived. "Listen to me."

Alex froze, not liking the tone. "Full attention?" he joked.

"If our foxy friend hasn't flipped darkside, you need to get to Joe. Try and communicate that." Wolf paused, listening for the door. He lowered his voice. "As far as I know slavery isn't legal in Afghanistan, and I believe this law is complete bullshit, _but _if Matt has as much power here as he does in the United Kingdom, things are going to be screwy. You need to get to Joe and tell him to start World War Three over here."

"I don't think that's such a good idea," Alex said, even though he agreed; they needed to get action moving. They'd been on this case way too long and he did not like leaving Wolf alone with Matt. He couldn't shake the feeling that something bad was going to happen. "I mean, we already have people asking Six if World War Three is going to start soon. Do you want to tack on World War Four to that?" he grinned. Then his grin faded as he hugged Wolf. "Do you really think they can keep me separate from you?"

"Not on my life, kid, even if we have to run to the end of the world to avoid this stupid document. As long as you don't kick me out of the planes, I think we'll be fine. Oh, and please pass on the news that I have plans of my own to Joe. If the sergeant asks if he's still good, tell him to ask Ben about what we did the night we passed selection. That's something only the Foxy man and the sergeant will know... and it's something he won't want to say if he's bad." There was a _long_story behind that one.

"Not even the rest of K?" Alex asked, his eyes widening.

Wolf grinned. "You really, really don't want to know, Cub."

The door hit the wall with a crack, and Matt walked in, "What don't you want me to know Wolf?"

"Who is the _foxy man_?" Fox added, even though Wolf could tell from the look in his eyes that he knew exactly who he was going to talk about. "Are you dating someone else?"

"Considering I wasn't dating you, no. Although I might have to start dating someone if it'll make you jealous," Wolf said. Now how to drop the clue that Fox was to get Alex to Joe and nobody else? "Maybe I should even date Joe. He was nice to me. Much, much nicer than you were."

"You do that and I'll have him pinned for domestic abuse charges," Ben said.

Wolf grinned inwardly. he couldn't explain how, but Ben had gotten the message. "Actually, I think he's planning on pinning you for the charges. You are the cop. And I'm pretty sure he would remove _custody of Alex from you_..." he stressed the last few words.

"Yeah well you know all cops all lying scumbags, so what makes Joe any different? However the day he takes your _son_away from me, is when World War Three hits."

_He's going to take Alex away from here and get him to Joe_, Wolf thought.

"I don't want to go with you!" Alex snapped, sensing it was time to throw something into action. He couldn't explain why but he felt like it was important to start things moving as soon as possible. "I hate you! You can't take me away from my father! Ow! BEN! Let me go!"

"Gosh, are you always so whiny? Get in the damned car, now!" Ben dragged Alex by the arm.

"No!" Wolf said, knowing Matt would get suspicious if he didn't do something. "Let go of him! Let _GO_of him!"

"So much for him obeying orders," Ben mumbled under his breath. "Mind taking care of your slave, Matt?" He questioned, raising his eyebrow.

"I was just going to leave him in here," Matt said as he moved out of Wolf's room, slamming the door shut and locking it with a sliding key card. He turned towards Alex. "Be good for Ben. I wouldn't want to have to punish you."

Alex almost said something snappy then stopped himself. He didn't want to be left with Matt. Instead he hung his head. "Yes, sir."

"We're going to have a blast, as soon as I get back from my trip," Ben told him as he lead him outside. "You see I have to do a deal for Matt, and I will be away for a few days. However, one of my buddies will come and keep you company, manly to make sure you don't do anything stupid."

Alex paled, praying that Ben was returning him to Joe. "I want to go with Wolf! I don't want to go with you! I hate you, you aren't my father, you didn't legally adopt me, Wolf did! Why can't you leave me with him? I hate you!"

"Well, whoever told you that I didn't legally adopt you is a dumbass, because I did. Second of all, I can't leave you with him because I adopted you, and as your care is important to me I'm not leaving you in the hands of a moron."

"I thought Matt said you couldn't adopt anyone because you killed somebody! I don't wanna go with someone who's killed someone!" Alex hoped he was playing the part of the bratty teen because that was exactly how he felt.

"Matt's also a dumbass," Ben deadpanned, telling Alex the truth for once. "I never murdered anyone, they just ran into my knife."

"I thought Eagle said they ran into your knife ten times," Alex said before freezing as he recognized his mistake. He'd said Eagle's code name.

"Who's Eagle?" Matt asked, curiously.

"No one," Ben broke in.

"He's my best invisible friend," Alex responded, knowing that Ben would need some help being bailed out. "He makes me cookies and gives me chocolate. I make sure I never give him chocolate, though. He told me that you stabbed the guy with the knife, not that he ran into it ten times."

"Your invisible friend has a big mouth," Matt muttered, running his hand through his hair. "How long do you think your friend can keep Cub there? I might need him to keep me from killing the brat."

"Oh, it shouldn't be too long, although I suppose I could make it longer. Hopefully enough to resist your urges to kill him..."

"My invisible friend says you shouldn't have an urge to kill me," Alex said, finding himself wishing he'd thought of the routine much earlier. It would have made things so much more fun. "Do you want to know what my invisible friend looks like?" He was trying to give Ben an excuse to get them both out of there. "He looks like-"

"Air, I get it. Now we have to go, enough of this talk about imaginary friends," Ben said ushering him out the door before turning to Matt. He hoped getting them out of there was Alex's plan, because otherwise, he'd strangle the kid, and murder was never sanctioned on an MI6 mission when it was one of the good guys. "You know kids these days, making up the friend they will never have."

"He's my _best _friend though!" Alex cut in, just to be obnoxious. "He says you smell funny, Matt."

"Your imaginary friend doesn't know what he's talking about!" Matt said, casually smelling the collar of his shirt.

"I'll send you some candles..." Ben muttered as he practically shoved Alex out the door, and slammed it shut, cutting off Matt's retort. "In the car, now!"

"No! WOLF! Let me go! Please, Ben, let me go!"

"I swear Cub if you don't shut up, I will produce a knife and stab you with it."

"I want Wolf!"

"I can't promise anything, but if you don't shut up then you won't be able to see him in a long time. You're not making this very easy to help you get to him and it hasn't even been a day yet."

Alex clamped his mouth shut and allowed himself to drop to the floor.

Everything went black.

* * *

_ONE DAY LATER_

"You're a douche," Wolf mumbled as he was roughly shaken awake by Matt.

"Get up. What's a douche?" Matt asked, wondering if that was one of those American terms. He blinked, suddenly realizing he didn't know whether Wolf was - no, no, Wolf was from the UK, he knew that. "Your friend Joe isn't here to protect you now, so I can do what I please," he added as a threat. "And Alex may be away from you, _but_, I can call Ben and have him punished Alex at anytime. Are you getting up now?"

Wolf groaned, knowing that's exactly what Matt would do, punish Alex even though he's miles away. "Yes I'm up, but you're smart go grab a dictionary."

"We don't have time for that. I let you sleep three hours, that's more than enough. It is time to go and help me. We are loading a truck that we are going to take to the Big Boss. We will be staying for the show he presents to the suppliers," Matt asid.

"They have a fucking show about illegal drugs?" Wolf muttered before realizing who he was talking too.

"Watch your language, and use Sir when speaking to someone in authority," Matt said.

"You mean your mother?" Wolf retorted.

Matt responded by kicking him in the side. "Get up, you have two minutes to get dressed. Your clothes are near the door in a pile, I was feeling too lazy to put them away. I want you to pack a bag with three day's worth of supplies, you will have three minutes to do that. I am feeling forgiving so I will give you food you can eat on the way there. If you are not ready in five minutes I will drug you unconscious and you will be punished. Are we clear? Oh, and let me make one more thing clear, little Wolfy. You may be over eighteen, you may think you've got more power than Cub, but truthfully you've got shit. At least he can pretend to imagine he is getting out of the system - you can't."

Matt paused for a minute, trying to think of what else to say. "Oh, yes. That reminds me. This is our LEADER we're meeting, and if you fuck anything up, I will not hesitate to kill you to make an example. Are we clear?" He locked eyes with Wolf to show him he was deadly serious.

"Yes sir..." Wolf said, unsure of himself. At least now he knew who was faking and who was the real deal, and Matt was definitely a psychopath.

"I'm impressed, you're actually listening," Matt responded. He grinned, loving the power he had over Wolf. He should have traded slaves with Ben long ago. Although he so _loved_that the domestic violence angle had come in; that was another angle to mock Wolf about. "Oh, yes. That reminds me. The leader knows all about your history... so don't mention anything about Joe while he's there. Clear?" he asked, crossing his arms. When Wolf didn't respond, he slammed the door shut and leaned against it. He was tired.

"Crystal...sir," Wolf said, not knowing how to respond. He just wanted to get out of here quickly so he could _do something productive_, like try and succeed, in escaping. With his brother Alex, in tow. Turning around he started shoving random clothes in a bag, if Matt was giving him three minutes he couldn't waste a second.

"One minute," Matt called from behind the closed door.

Wolf cursed and threw on the clothes that Matt had supplied him with. The door opened as he was pulling on his shirt.

Matt held out his hand. "Look at all these bruises," he said even as Wolf ignored him in favor of pulling on his shirt. "Look at this scuff mark here. This knife mark here."

"Yeah, all caused by you!"

"Actually," Matt corrected him, ruffling his hair, "Those two are caused by Ben. When I cut people I cut much deeper. Would you like a demonstration?"

"I'll pass, and at least Ben doesn't molest kids."**

"Now, now, you don't know that for sure," Matt responded, just to mess with Wolf's mind. "And no really, I think you must take me up on the offer." Before Wolf knew what was happening he was on the floor, pinned down and Matt had a knife against his arm. He made a large, jagged cut, dragging a deep mark in Wolf's arm. "I can cut deeper than that," he responded. "Want me to do that?"

"No, you're a sick freak. Now get off of me!"

Matt pulled himself up but didn't bother to offer Wolf first aid, instead tossing him a discarded hoodie that had been on the ground. It was cold in Afghanistan, and besides Wolf would need to cover up the blood stain. "Put that on. We're leaving, now, before I stab you to death _accidentally_."

"Yes sir," Wolf responded as he knew Matt was serious, and could easily cover it up.

"Good boy. Now let's go."

* * *

Joe sighed as he ate the bite of his steak. "Yeah. I don't know where to even start looking. I mean, I've already had officers comb the nearby areas. Matt and his gang are nowhere to be found." He paused. "I really don't know. I know K-Unit is _saying _that Ben is trustworthy, but his action is saying otherwise; I'd love to get Wolf's take on this... he's the leader of his unit, that's why." Joe paused as he heard a helicopter in the background.

A helicopter? Here? He grabbed his gun, apologized to the person and hung up before dialing his supervisor and outlining the situation. "Pete, if I don't call back within twenty minutes," he said, "make sure _someone _comes after me, OK?"

With that, Joe moved towards the helicopter. He saw Ben get off, his gun firmly against Alex's head. _How could K-Unit still think he was good?_

"Ahh, great, I found you! I was worried that I had the wrong address," Ben told Joe as he walked closer, his other hand tight on Alex's arm.

Joe had his own gun drawn. "Let go of Alex, then we can talk," he lied smoothly, wondering if he'd be able to get get away with shooting the bastard.

"I'll talk if you stop moving away from me. I just came here to make a few demands that you will fulfil."

"Where's Wolf?" Joe asked, looking around the helicopter and seeing no sign of him. He crossed his arms but kept his gun at ready. "And where's Matt? I'm surprised you had the courage to attack me without your minions." He was really hoping Pete would get there soon.

"I'll tell you where Wolf is if you let me inside. I have some information that you probably want to hear since you don't know the situation with Wolf," Ben told him, and kept walking.

"Let go of Alex," Joe said, his finger back on the gun.

"If I let go of _Cub_then I will be forced to retaliate, and it won't be pretty. Now, let us inside, and we will start that conversation."

"If you come any closer, I will shoot you," Joe promised.

"Heh, that's fine with me. You shoot anywhere near me, and my gun goes off, right into Alex's head."

"Let go of Alex, now," Joe demanded as he noticed Ben's finger get a little heavier on the trigger. "Don't shoot!" Terrified that Ben's finger would slip, and seeing the evil glint in Ben's eye, he fired. Not close enough to shoot Ben - he misfired - but he knew what Ben's reaction would be.

* * *

* Slavery isn't legal in Afghanistan, however it is often overlooked.

** My beta was reading this and she goes, "I know he [Ben] doesn't [molest kids.] He doesn't have time too between the 40 millers."

Challenge:

What's going on with Ben? What will his reaction be? Is he really going to leave Alex with Joe?

Why is Wolf finally obeying Matt?

Will Matt follow through on his threat?

_thanks to all who reviewed to make the early update possible, especially MattIsEvil, MyLifeIsComplete, giverofgrace, LighteningAndBlossoms (for her extra long review-we all love long reviews-'course, we love short reviews too), and TheAwesomeJellyBean! Everyone else, you rock, too! Your next goal is 530! Otherwise, update will be on Wednesday. We hope you're enjoying the ride! _


	29. Need a Reaction

Ben shoved Alex away, and opened fire, hitting his target. He was pretty sure the helicopter would be recording his motions and he wanted to look good. They had to start closing this case up.

"You son of a bitch!" Joe cried, scrambling for his gun. Ben got to him first, stepping firmly on his elbow. "Get inside," he demanded.

"Fuck no," Joe gasped, sensing once they were inside the battle would be all over.

"Get inside or I shoot Alex. I already shot you, I won't hesitate to shoot him too."

"Fine," Joe said even as he attempted to cover up the bleeding. He pushed the door open with his good hand, praying that he wouldn't get shot. "What the hell do you want?" he demanded when the door was closed.

"To have a conversation, if that was so much to ask for." Ben quickly left, only to come back with the rope that Joe had in the laundry room that he kept around for the occasional weekend camping trip.

Tying up Alex, he shoved him on the couch, while he took a seat in the chair to complete the job. Joe was laying on the floor, holding his arm to stop the bleeding.

"What are you doing?" Joe asked even as Ben forced him to let go of his arm and tied his hands behind his back. "What do you want with me?"

"I want to punish you for taking Wolf away from me," Ben said, glaring at Joe. Getting up, he looked at the television set, and kneeled down. "Oh, that's cute. You actually invested in one of these, or perhaps a few?"

"One of these... what?" Joe asked, feeling confused. The television had been a gift from a friend and hadn't cost him squat. He was more convinced than ever that Ben wasn't a good guy, no matter what the unit had said. But he broke his thoughts off. Enough of that, he had to stay alive. "What do you want?" He glanced at Alex, and was relieved to see that the kid looked okay. A little worse for wear, but okay. "Why is Alex here? I have back-up on the way - they'll be about ten minutes out."

"Just ironic that a cop, out of all people, would have a bug planted in their DVD player," Ben said as he waved a small machine over it and it lit up. He picked the bug and squished it under his shoe before slicing through it, stomping to the back yard, and then disposing of it in Joe's trash can. He used the scanner to check once more and breathed a sigh of relief when there was no reading. "I want you to answer my questions. As to why Alex is here, that is none of your business. However, I do wish your backup luck...they're going to need it."

"Why are you here?" Joe demanded again. "I can't help you unless you tell me why. Why you and Alex are here." He found himself desperately wishing Ben hadn't duct-taped Alex's mouth. "Do you really want _more _charges? Where's Wolf?" He demanded, again. "I already have your ass on domestic violence, got enough video evidence for you to be locked up for ages... Now you have attempted murder of a cop and kidnapping a minor added to the list. That makes for what, three or four counts now of kidnapping a minor?" he said.

Ben started chuckling before straight out laughing. "Oh, that's a good one. 'Attempted murder'. If I wanted you dead, you would be."

"Any time you shoot at a cop, you are charged for attempted murder," Joe informed him as he looked again at the teenage boy. He noticed Alex didn't really seem scared of Ben and wondered why.

"Sure, sure, whatever you say. I bet you know it all, don't you? How long have you've been on this case for? A few months now...or have you been keeping an eye on Matt since day one?"

"...Why does that matter? I came in when the domestic violence call got placed," Joe said, knowing he had to chose his words carefully. He wondered why Ben was doing this. "I know that there's slavery involved. I know Wolf never wanted to be your partner - you kidnapped him, and used that as an excuse-"

"Wolf was the perfect partner, never complained too much, always did as he was told. Or at least he did after I beat him. But then you took that all away from me. Did you know about Wolf's job loading trucks in Afghanistan?"

"I don't know anything about that...wait, he was working as a waiter," Joe said, feeling totally lost before the light bulb kicked on. He prayed that Pete would get here soon. "Wait. You're _forcing_Wolf to load trucks, aren't you? Why can't you just hire people to do that?" he demanded, knowing the retort was stupid as soon as it came out of his mouth.

"Don't you get it, the whole reason I have Alex now, why this is all your fault. Honestly I think Wolf likes me better than the son-of-a-bitch owner he has now. Oh, bet you didn't know that his said owner is meeting the head of this organization right this minute. Thought it would be generous of me to drop in and tell you as it was going down."

"...You're a psychopath," Joe informed Ben, although he wondered why exactly the information was being given.

"And do you know exactly _where _the meeting is?" Ben asked, grinning like a crooked cat.

"No?" Joe asked.

Ben produced a knife, and threw it down. Joe gave a startled scream but was but thankful and confused when the knife had landed right next to his hand.

"I don't know!" he said, again. "I don't know any of this. Why do you think I know it?" he demanded. Seeing Ben's eyes darken he changed to a different topic. "Why do you want to know if I know?"

"If I know what you know, then I can compare them to the facts that I already know, the ones that essentially you should know to if you were a good cop. But we all know you're not, even if you don't know that for yourself."

Joe groaned. He and Pete had already fired and arrested the five cops Wolf had mentioned were dirty. Wolf's accusations had all proved correct, sadly. It made him want to stab someone. "...Are you saying someone else on my team is bad?"

Ben scoffed, "Now-a-days it's difficult to find just one _good cop. _However, you're not that one, since you keep butting into people's business."

"...Who else on the team is a bad apple?" Joe demanded.

"Oh, please. I think you know that Micah, the new guy, is bad. He's so up in this thing to his eyeballs. Now I need to know what you know about a man named Jackson Mitchell, Jason White and Sarah Plate."

"...Absolutely nothing?"

"Nothing...well that's not what I heard. Now come on, Joe. Surely you know something. Perhaps it's stored in that brain that you don't use."

"...Jackson Mitchell, he's on the top ten list, right? Top ten most wanted?" Joe asked, his eyes wide. "Where is he at now?"

"You mean you don't know where Jackson Mitchell is at? He's in Badakhshān," Ben informed Joe.

"Badakhshān?"

"A city in Afghanistan. Don't you cops study your geography? Although to be fair, when Matt told me we were going there, I had to look that up." Ben smirked at him.

Sirens could be heard in the background. "Those are probably for me," Joe told Ben. "They're going to arrest your ass and hand you over to the prison guards."

"Hmm, yes I suppose so..." Ben said and leaned back in the chair.

Joe felt like he was being stonewalled. "...Why are you here? What do you want from me? Why is Alex here?"

"Alex is the whole reason this went down," Ben told him, as he got up and approached Joe. Grabbing the knife, he threw it by Alex, winding up hitting him in the thigh. Alex gave a muffled cry of surprise and pain and an angry look crossed his face. "Now come on."

"The hell I'm going anywhere with you," Joe said as Ben tugged at his arm. He resisted and was glad that his arm had stopped bleeding.

"I'm not really giving you a choice here, now move!"

"Let me go!" Joe said even as Ben shoved him down to the floor. "I'm not going anywhere with you. You're a psychopathic piece of shi-"

Ben cocked his gun, and pointed it at Joe's head. "If you finish that sentence, I will shoot you. If you don't get your ass moving, I will shoot you."

"What if I said I don't care about myself?" Joe asked, desperately trying to stall for time.

"Well, there is always Alex..." Ben said glancing over at the kid who was sitting on the couch in pain from his deep cut.

"I'll go," Joe said, "As long as you promise to leave him alone."

"Well Joe, I promise, and I never break promises."

* * *

Eagle had been anxious when he heard the phone call. Joe had told Pete that there was a helicopter in his yard and that if he didn't hear from him in fifteen minutes, he had to call back. "Have you heard from Joe yet?" he asked, eying Monotaro as he came in the room. The teen that had been so terrified a few months ago but now was so much more resolved. "Hey, Monotaro. You okay?" the teen had taken off for the bathroom a few minutes before in what Eagle had hoped wasn't another panic attack.

"No, I haven't heard from Joe yet. Y-yeah, I'm fine...why do you ask?" Monotaro said, stumbling over his words.

"It's okay," Eagle reassured him. "I wasn't asking you, I was asking Pete," Eagle said. He hadn't failed to noticed Monotaro's stuttering and wondered what that was about. "...Hey, you wanna come in the other room with me for a second?" he asked, leading the teenager to the next room. "What happened, Niles? You don't usually take off like that."

"Nothing happened," Monotaro said defensively.

"Why are you defensive if nothing happened?" Eagle asked, not believing the teenager for a minute. _Something _happened. "Look at you Niles, you're shaking with fear, and you took off. You haven't done that in months."

"Y-You just looked so angry talking to Pete...Never mind, nothing happened."

"_I _looked so angry?" Eagle asked, then winced when the words came out harsher than he expected. "Why did I look mad?"

"I-I'm sorry, I didn't mean to offend you, I-I just..."

"Offend me? You didn't bother me, Niles... Did you maybe mean Pete looked angry?" Pete had seemed very tense since Joe's phone call and Eagle wanted to check to make sure that Joe was okay. "Niles, you're shaking. What happened? I'm not going to beat you."

"No, please don't beat me. I-I'll do anything Sir, I'm sorry. I'll-I'll do more chores around the house...I could get a job..."

"Niles." Eagle took the teenager gently by the chin. "Say it after me: I am _not _going to beat you-" a sudden thought occurred to him and he gently let Niles' chin down. "Niles, did Pete threaten to beat you?"

Niles reeled back, and shook his head, "N-No, Pete didn't...he-he would never..."

"Niles." Eagle groaned. "Stay here," he said as he walked into the other room. He knew Pete had done something but wasn't sure what. "Pete, have you heard from Joe yet?"

"No...but why does that matter?"

"Pete, surely a cop like Joe wouldn't say that for nothing," Eagle said. "I have a really bad feeling in my gut that's just screaming to me that we need to go and check it out. By the way, did you say something to Niles?" he asked, crossing his arms. He had a feeling that Pete had said something, but the teenage boy wouldn't tell him anything. He sighed, cursing Matt again. One threat would send Niles backwards. He had to get the teens out of this mess.

"Well, if you want to go check it out, be my guest. It hasn't been that long, he could be busy. Who's Niles again?" Pete asked, crossing his arms.

"...Niles was here two minutes ago," Eagle responded with a roll of his eyes. "Oh sod off it Pete, does Joe really look like a cop to get distracted with something being _busy_? Has this whole damn department gone to the dogs? Niles could also be called Monotaro, but I promise if you call him that I'll slit your throat."

"Oh, that kid. No I haven't really talked to him, why is he throwing a fit?" Pete said, ignoring that comment about the department.

"Pete, he's terrified. Funny thing is he was terrified after _talking to you_. Now tell me what you told him or I'll kill you and bury your body," Eagle responded. He used to threatening Wolf to get information out of him and often forgot that local police officers didn't get that it wasn't a threat.

"Are you threatening me? For your information I haven't talked to the kid at all. Even if I did, would it ever occur to you that maybe he just wants attention? I mean come on, his story is a little far fetched if you know what I mean."

"...His story? He didn't even _say_ anything, dammit, Pete! But he's really scared, and funny, he didn't start to become scared until _after you said something to him while I was on the phone!"_

"Just because he doesn't open his mouth, doesn't mean that things don't fly around the office. Believe me, the things I've heard, it almost makes me believe that the kid enjoyed it. Perhaps he found out that all that lying won't get him anywhere in life."

"...The kid enjoyed what?" Eagle asked, launching at Pete and grabbing him by his shoulders. "You son of a bitch! What did you do to him?"

Pete roughly shoved Eagle away, before nailing him to the wall, "You're under arrest for assaulting an officer."

"You're under arrest for threatening my son!" Eagle shouted even as Niles came in, his eyes wide as he backed away.

"Oh, don't worry. While you're in a cell, rotting. Monotaro will be in good hands, I'll make sure of it," Pete said as he handcuffed Eagle and dragged him over to the door.

"No!" Niles cried. "Let Nick go! You threatened me!" he screamed as he launched himself from the door. Eagle started struggling in the handcuffs.

"Don't touch my son or I'll slit your throat!" he yelled at Pete, who left him there and started taking out after Niles. "Leave Niles alone!"

Pete knocked him to the ground, and started kicking him, "I thought we had a deal you miserable piece of filth."

"...We made no such deal! Niles, get the hell out of here and go get Snake!" Eagle prayed that the kid would actually remember who Snake was. "Get Snake and tell him to check on Joe!" It seemed that Joe was the only good cop in this damn district.

Niles coughed, and Pete turned to Eagle. "Come on, you're coming with me."

"The hell I am!"

Both Pete and Eagle turned when the sound of a door slamming came to them. Niles was nowhere to be seen.

"Look at that, a kid beat you," Eagle said, trying to get Pete's attention distracted before he went after Niles. "What did you say to him? He's terrified of hell of you. And where are you taking me? I don't want to go anywhere."

"Shut up. You're not in the position to be giving out orders here. Don't forget that you're not getting away with any of this. Not only did you assault an officer, but also your Master." At the look Eagle gave him, he quickly continued not leaving any time for opinions, "Yes that's right, I own you. You're my new slave, and I'm so glad you get to help with this new organization, Free Fly is going to be a success." Pete wanted to make it clear where he was right then. It was _his _choice to

"The hell I'm your slave!" Eagle said even as Pete dragged him. The police station was oddly vacant although that could have been because it was nearly nine o'clock at night. "Let me go!"

"But, if I let you go, then you would get away with assaulting me. Plus, we have other plans for you," Pete told Eagle. Once Eagle saw that Niles had gotten away, he started to kick him. Pete just used a stun weapon and tossed Eagle back to the floor. Eagle picked himself up only to be thrown down again. He growled when his arm was scraped and went towards Pete before Pete tasered him.

"What the hell plans could you possibly have?" Eagle demanded even as he was lugged to the SUV. He prayed Niles had gotten away. Even despite his protests, Pete managed to get him into the police car. Eagle swore, trying to kick Pete even as the man took out another handcuff and cuffed it to the bars. The door slammed, and for a second Eagle was left alone. Pete quickly opened the door again, suddenly patting Eagle down, grabbing the cell phone out of his pocket, along with his flashlight.

"What are you doing with my phone?"

"Breaking it, what does it look like?" Pete threw the phone on the ground and proceeded to stomp on it, sending little pieces all around. "We don't want someone attempting to track it now do we?"

"...Fuck you, you fucking piece of shit."

Pete smacked him, "That is no way to talk to your owner, much less someone of higher class."

"Funny you should say that. You do realize you'll be going to jail soon," Eagle said even as the car door slammed and Pete made his way into the driver's seat. "Why do you want me?"

"Actually you're the one that will be going to jail soon, so tough luck. Also, don't ask stupid questions, it's rather simple as to why I want you."

"Why don't you fill me in." Eagle had a good idea, but he was dreading the real answer. _Please don't let it be because they think they can get information out of me. Please don't let it be because they think they can get information out of me. Shit! Pete doesn't realize that Wolf is SAS, right? Shit, shit, shit!_

"Well, with you being SAS and all, you must know something that we don't. So we're hoping that you answer our questions."

Eagle felt his own face paling. That was so not good. That wasn't good at all. "...Yeah, right... Why do you think I'm SAS?" he asked, even though he knew the half-hearted attempt was useless. "Why do you really want me?"

* * *

Challenges:

Why did Eagle go with Pete so easily?

Why does Pete want Eagle?

Why did Ben take Joe?

Why did Ben hurt Alex?

~ Thanks for your reviews! 530=early update! Otherwise update on Saturday!


	30. Eagle Has a Secret

**A/N:** Congrats to all of you who guessed correctly (and many of you did) that Eagle was letting them take him because he didn't want Niles to get hurt. Not only that, he wants Niles to get away and find Snake, and he was hoping that he could overtake Pete. HE didn't think Pete would drug him. Also, something about the helicopter and the money that this ring has. In addition to drug running, they're involved in all kinds of crime, as you'll see in the upcoming chapters, so they have tons of money, which Matt spends keeping an eye on everyone in his organization. He also uses it to get connections everywhere (like Afghanistan).

Thanks to all your reviews/guesses on the challenges. They really do help us with the story, even though most of it's already written. Sometimes we'll add things in or change things briefly based on your feedback. So thanks.

And if you're bored, go check out the other stories we have on this page!

* * *

"I don't think you're SAS, I know you're SAS. You're a soldier, and have intel on what we're doing. So, I want to know what you know. Of course torture is a must, unless you feel the need that it's unnecessary?"

"...Why would you want to torture me?" Eagle asked, playing the part of 'stupid, dumb and dumber.' "I don't know anything you don't know." That was a lie, of course, but Pete didn't have to know that. He wondered when Pete had flipped darkside. He'd seemed like such a good guy up until a while ago.

"Are you positive? Well maybe if we force it out of you something will jog your memory... What do you say, are you ready?"

"Ready for what?" Eagle asked nervously, wondering what the hell the man's plans were.

"The torture session of course," Pete said as if Eagle knew it all along. "I've always wanted to torture someone..." he mumbled, but still loud enough for Eagle to hear.

Eagle groaned. This was not going to be fun. But at least Niles had gotten away safely; that's why he'd tried not to fight back until the kid had run away. He was not letting that kid get hurt again. No way, no how, ho way, no how.

* * *

Alex struggled to get out of his bonds. He prayed that Snake would come soon. He couldn't explain why but somehow he knew that Snake would be there. The knife wound wasn't bleeding bad - Alex knew that it had been a tactic to scare Joe - but it hurt like _hell_. "Dammit!" he hissed as he heard the door open. He dropped down on the couch and faked sleep as if he was passed out.

"Hands in the air - Alex?" Snake walked through the door with his gun raised. The teenage boy didn't move, not trusting that someone unpleasant wasn't with Snake. Suddenly, another door burst open, and Monotaro made his way through the door.

"Snake!" Monotaro burst out. "T-th-they took E-E-a- - Nick!"

"What? Who took - Why are you two here in the first place? Where is Joe?" Snake asked, now confused.

"They k-k- - the bad man - Pete- said they k-k-took him," Niles said. He backed away from behind the couch. "I'm sorry, please don't beat me, please don't hit me..."

Snake groaned, wondering what he just walked into.

Alex loudly sighed, deciding that now would be a very good time to get up. "Wha.." he asked, slurring his words to make it look like he'd been asleep longer.

"Alex, where is Joe?" Snake asked, knowing Alex wouldn't freak out like Monotaro would.

"Ben took him... You're not going to beat me, are you?" he added with a look in Niles' direction. He wondered why Niles was suddenly reacting so strongly. _What had happened?_Niles hadn't been scared of getting a beating in three days.

"No, I'm not going to beat you. Neither one of you. I -"

"I don't want you to beat me!" Niles said, taking off. He couldn't explain the random panic attack that he was having, but he knew that it was triggered by Pete's threat and Eagle's abduction. "Someone needs to help Nick!"

"Don't forget about Joe too," Alex broke in, but Niles was already upstairs. "You should probably get him," he said even as Snake sliced through his bonds. "_Before_he leaves the house. He really needs long-term counseling for his PTSD."

Not that Alex blamed Niles. He knew he needed counseling too. And who could blame Niles? His whole life had been one big, long, painful anxiety attack.

Snake sighed and helped Alex up. "You both need to calm down, and explain what happened."

"You might want to get him first," Alex responded as he gestured towards up the stairs, then winced. "You realize you are stepping in a crime scene?"

"Shit," Snake muttered. "Okay, here's the deal. I need to get both of you out of here, we could head to somewhere and figure out what's going on, okay?"

"Sure," Alex responded, "as long as I get to vomit." With that, the teen boy headed over towards the trash can. Snake groaned and bounded up the stairs two by two, looking frantically in the bedrooms. Joe was nowhere to be found. "Niles!" he said, finally finding him in what he guessed was Joe's bedroom.

He wondered how sorry Joe was he had gotten involved in this case. "Niles! For God's sake, get out of the window!"

"No, because if I get out of the window then I'm on step farther away from getting out of here."

"Where are you going, Niles?" Snake asked softly, coming closer. He could have grabbed the teenager and forced him into the room but he had a feeling that would backfire really, really badly. "Why are you afraid of me?"

"I'm not telling you, because you would tell Matt again. I am not going back there, no matter what you say, you can't make me," he said frantically, slowly sticking his other foot out the window.

"Niles, I will _never _send you back to Matt again," Snake said desperately. "Please, Niles, if you come down, I'll explain it all, I promise. I had no choice." It was true, too. He'd even tried calling the child services to report the abuse under an assumed name and they'd laughed at him.

"You had no choice? Like I haven't heard that one before."

Snake groaned. He had known that would kick him in the ass, and sure enough, now he was paying full price for it. "Niles, can we please come down so that we can talk about this? I promise, I _promise _that I'm not taking you back to Matt. Look, you've still got your cell phone on you, right?" he asked.

"No, I'm sorry...why? Are you in this with Pete?"

"Wait, Pete? Isn't he good?" Snake asked, his jaw dropping. "Niles, what happened? Will you please get down from the damn window so that we can have a civil conversation without me worrying about you falling to your death?"

"Why are you worried about me dying...Matt always said it would be a great thing, and I was really lucky to be alive. You're like Matt...aren't you?" he said as he grabbed onto the window frame.

"No, Niles, please give me the chance to prove I'm nothing like Matt. I'm worried about you because I care about you - like Eagle does." Something occurred to him. "Where the hell is Eagle?" he asked.

"How should I know? You're the one that took him!"

Fear stabbed him. "What happened to Eagle?" he demanded again. "Niles, please come inside. I need to know what happened to Eagle."

"Fine I'll come inside, just keep your distance," Niles told him as he got down. As soon as Snake stepped towards him, he took off down the stairs.

"Damn it, Niles!" Snake said, finally losing his temper. Eagle really needed to put this kid on some anti anxiety medicine. "Get back here, please, Niles! I just want to talk. Please, can we please just talk? You can even have Alex in the same room and I'll let you have my cell phone," he added as a bargaining chip. He knew Niles and Alex were the only two people who knew what happened and he had to figure out what was going on.

He found Niles at the door, with Alex standing in front of it. "Alex, come on move. Please I'll do anything."

"Niles, come on," Alex said gently. "You trust me, right? Snake won't hurt you. If he does, I'll help you kick his ass and we can go away together, okay?"

"Y-You promise...?" Niles asked, glancing at Snake, before Alex again.

"I promise." Alex grinned. "And Ben gave me back my cell phone," he added. "Come on, Snake. Let's talk upstairs. There's less blood there."

The trio went upstairs to Joe's bedroom, the same room that Niles had tried to use to jump out the window earlier.

"Niles, I need you to tell me what happened to Eagle, please. It's really important. I promise not to punish you, no matter what you say, okay?"

"I-I don't know. Shouldn't we be looking for Eagle?"

"Niles, I need to know what _happened _first," Snake reminded him, thinking about his own escape from Panther.

"Oh, okay. I-I don't really know, but Nick was talking to Pete...then there was some yelling involved, a lot of yelling. Then Nick hit Pete...Pete was arresting him-"

"Why was Pete arresting Eagle?" Snake asked, his jaw dropping open. He had thought that Pete was a good cop, but if that was the case, why was Pete arresting Eagle? "Is he at the prison?"

"I-I don't know. He said something about assault...then Nick told me to find you, so here I am."

"Wait...wait..."

"Pete said something along the lines of attacking his Master...I don't really know much else."

"But Eagle doesn't have a master," Snake said, confused.

"He didn't when you left on that joyride," Alex corrected. "He might now. What happened, Niles?"

"Pete just said that he owns Eagle now."

"Wait, what?" Snake asked. He was gone for a day and a half and this happened?! "Niles, what happened... can you tell me what happened?"

"I-I don't know what you want me to say? You only want to hear this because you want to know how Nick was made into a slave, well I'm not telling you because I don't even know!"

Snake would have hit his head in frustration if he wouldn't have been worried about Niles' reaction. "Niles, I want to know how Nick was made a slave -"

"I-I don't - I'm sorry, please, please don't hurt me," Niles said, scared.

"Niles-"

"What do you want from me!"

"I don't want anything from you, Niles." Snake decided to change the topic and looked at Alex. "What happened, Alex?"

"Joe was kidnapped by Ben. I don't know why. I think they took him to get information from him, but really I think Ben took him because he was afraid they'd kill Eagle," Alex said bluntly. He then turned and looked at Niles. "Niles, did I ever tell you I knew Snake before I met him here?"

Snake winced inwardly, wondering where this was going.

"No?" Niles asked.

"I met him at this camp. We called the camp hell, for fun, because it was so awful. I met Wolf and Eagle there too." Alex left out Ben's name. "And Snake was the nicest guy of them all. It was a law 'forcement camp, Niles. I _promise_you that Snake's not out to beat you."

"That's right, and has Eagle ever hurt you? Or Wolf?" Snake asked, hoping the answer was no.

"...Does blood being spilt only count?" Monotaro asked, almost afraid he answered it wrong.

_Shit, shit, shit_, Snake thought, _damn it, did one of them lose their temper? It probably wasn't Eagle, even though Eagle owned the kid - ten bucks says it's Wolf. _"Yes, Niles... that counts..." he closed his eyes, knowing this wasn't going to be good. A second later he opened them. "Did whoever hurt you hurt you more than once?"

"No, at least I don't think so," he said glancing at the wall to gather his thoughts.

Alex groaned. "Niles... did Wolf deck you because he was mad at something? If he did, trust me, that's not your fault. Sometimes he just reacts without thinking. Trust me, I know," he grumbled.

"But, why would he hurt you? You're his son!"

"...Fuck this!" Alex said, getting up and slamming the door. He had to lean against the door, taking a deep breath. _It is not Monotaro's fault. It is not Monotaro's fault. It is not Monotaro's fault, do not kill him, do not kill him, do not kill him. The kid has been traumatized enough already. _With that, he went back inside the room. "I'm not his son, Monotaro," he said softly. "It was... I can't explain it right now. We're brothers... can we just leave it at that?" He glanced at Snake. "Snake, let's just start at square one. We believe you guys are good, with the exception of maybe Fox. Now Monotaro, I know this is hard, but we need to know what happened to Eagle - not because we WANT to know how he was made a slave, but because we NEED to know to rescue him and make him an un-slave."

"Un-slave?"

"Yes... un-slave." Alex grinned. "Don't mock my vocabulary. Monotaro, what happened to Eagle?"

FLASHBACK

"_Don't say a word, understand?" Pete said as to Monotaro as he increased his hold on his upper arm._

"_Y-Yes sir," he stuttered, wincing when Pete finally let go of him, only to reach in his pocket and retrieve his phone. Monotaro attempted to pull away from him and grab the phone only to find that he couldn't._

"_I'll hold onto this for now."_

"_Niles, are you here?" Eagles voice carried into the kitchen of the police station. The kid had wondered off and he'd wanted to track him down before talking to Pete._

_His throat clenched when he saw that Pete was glaring down on him. "I-I'm in here."_

"_There you are -" Eagle stopped short when he saw Pete. "Oh, hello. I didn't know you were coming, I would have been here. Hopefully you weren't waiting too long?"_

"_Not at all, only a few minutes. No harm done, right?" he said while elbowing Monotaro, who had been there with him a few minutes previously._

"_Everything was fine," he said, hiding his wince._

"_I'm sure..." Eagle trailed off, "Well, are you here for any particular reason? I mean, did you call us here?"_

"_Yeah... Got a call from Joe, he said if I wasn't back in fifteen to call him..." Pete scratched his head. "I'm not really worried about it though, you know Joe; he always likes to exaggerate."_

"_Yeah, did he say what was happening?" Eagle asked, now interested. _

_Pete shrugged. "Just something about a helicopter at his house... no big deal."_

"_A helicopter... And this is normal for the police force? Did he say who was on it, or why it chose his house?"_

"_Said something about some guy coming... didn't say who, so I'm not worried. He said he'd call in fifteen and if not to come after him... why, do you like Joe or something?"_

"_What, no! Just worried about him, as should you. It's not everyday that a helicopter drops on your lawn with a mysterious guy. Don't you find that a little strange?" _

"_Nope... Joe's into all kinds of weird things," Pete informed Eagle. "This is nothing new from him. Do I have to arrest you for asking weird questions about a police officer's private life?"_

"_Of course not. Do you want something to drink?"_

"_Did you HAVE something to drink? It sounds like you did, otherwise where would you come up with the theory that Joe is in trouble? I think that I may have to question you."_

"_The hell...for what? Caring about your partner? I am not drunk, just worried. What if something was happening to Joe right now, and we would never know until it was too late."_

"_Yup... drunk with worry... I bet," Pete sneered. Monotaro flinched in fear as Pete grabbed Eagle's arm. "Let's say you and I take a little walk, you big bad SAS boy? Or would you rather I hurt Monotaro?"_

"_Don't you dare touch __**Niles**__! I swear if you do then I will get the whole SAS on your ass. And don't you call him Monotaro, that's not his name, his name is __**Niles**__, learn it and use it."_

"_Why would I ever use a slave's name?" Pete asked. "Your slave name will be Seal, since you're such a squeal. Tell you what, you come with me and I'll let Monotaro live, for now."_

"_Niles, get out of here! Now. Go find Snake, or Joe if you can, just run!"_

"_...Yes Monotaro, run, run like the wind before I kill your owner for speaking out of turn..."_

End flashback

Snake just shook his head, remembering his own time with Panther. He'd managed to get a phone call into the sergeant, explaining the situation: Panther was bad, and was working for the ring. The only good news was that Snake had managed to convince Panther that he was still darkside, so that he hadn't totally blown his cover. He'd felt like a slime doing it, but knew that he needed to to be able to protect the kids.

"What happened? I thought Pete was on our side!"

Monotaro looked crushed. "I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I'm sorry..."

"Niles," Alex said, placing his hand on the teen's shoulder, "it is _not_ your fault, you understand me? Pete going darkside had _nothing to do with you_."

"But it did-"

"Did you tell him to go darkside?"

"No-"

"Did you pay him to commit a crime?"

"No-"

"Did you suggest, at any point, he go darkside?"

"No-"

"Then you have absolutely no blame," Alex said as he pulled himself up.

"Where are you going?" Niles asked him.

Alex just looked at him as if he was crazy. "To find Eagle, duh," he responded as he walked out of the room. "Come on. If Ben was here, he left some clues behind. He said something about World War Three and I'm betting our dear friend the sergeant can help us figure out some answers."

* * *

Eagle was roughly dumped on the floor. He had been drugged to the eyeballs and had tried to stay awake, but had failed. He now knew nothing of his location or who was with him.

Eagle groaned and protested right away, "This cement needs a rug."

"Well, your blood should make a lovely one," a cold voice said. "Hello. I am Steven, although I am better known as Matt's torturer, I will be conducting today's session."

"Oh, so I was wondering who did all of his dirty work," Eagle grumbled. "Though I'll pass on having my blood on the floor today, thanks for the suggestion though."

"You don't have an option," Steven informed him. "I know you're highly trained, that's why I took the liberty of having the flex-cuffs. I hope they aren't cutting off your circulation _too_badly."

Eagle shrugged. "Are you serious? Please, I was used to more than this in basic training."

"Shut up," the man responded as he grabbed Eagle. Eagle fought back, lashing out with his free leg. The other man quickly tackled his two legs, but even so, Eagle still kicked, nearly knocking the man's jaw out of place, but the man managed to move just in time.

"Let me go, you bastards!" Eagle shouted as he raised his hand to throw a punch, but found it sustained by a cuff.

"Get another back-up team in here, stat!" Steven said, panting. He wasn't used to such resistance from his prisoners. Maybe he should have read up on the training that the SAS got. He then dismissed it-no good to worry about that stuff now. "Keep your hands around his legs," he said as he lit his cigarette, took a puff, and then pressed it roughly against Eagle's arm.

"What are you? A pyro? Using fire instead of your fists? I see how it is, you're just too weak!"

"Too weak?" Steven retorted. "You're the one who is pinned to the ground, please." He burned Eagle again. "How about we start with a simple question... something I already know... like your codename..."

"My codename," Eagle deadpanned, "According to you lot, is Seal."

"Your SAS assigned codename," Steven said, lighting Eagle again. "Wrong answer." He knew the burns wouldn't work on the man but wanted a way to show him who was in charge.

"Oh, that one. Well if you already knew that, why do you insist on calling me Seal?"

"Because every slave has a slave name," Steven said as he took another drag of the cigarette. "Now Seal-" the door opened and someone else came in, carrying a chair. The chair was shoved against the wall and chained securely through the especially made loopholes. Eagle was roughly lifted by the three men and shoved into the chair, where he was tied with much force.

"Wow, don't you guys lift weights or something? It takes three of you to handle me, that's a laugh," Eagle told them.

"False bravado will only get you so far. You are, after all, in shackles. Your hands are cuffed to our chair. You are going nowhere," Steven responded. He turned to the other men. "Leave." The two men were practically tripping over themselves to leave. With that, Steven roughly backhanded Eagle twice. "Your codename, you bastard."

"Oh thanks, you scratched my itch. I was dying, but you saved me."

"You _BASTARD_!" Steven said, backhanding Eagle three times in a row. Eagle's chin flew up but other than that the SAS man gave no reaction. The door opened again and Matt came in the room.

"So, did you get his code name yet?"

"Oh good, you don't know my code name either? Well now I feel like I have a secret and none of you are going to hear it!"

* * *

Thanks to everyone who reviewed. I will try my very hardest to get you all a sneak peak, however if someone reviews 10:00 p.m. or later EST time the night before, it will be hard for me to get one, since I'm usually in bed by that time. I know, I know. *smiles*. Just know that we LOVE your reviews. By the way, if you have any questions, please ask. I know some of you do, and I didn't reply to them all... It's a lot to keep track of, so just get on our case and message it again.

One more last thing (I feel like Jackie Chan's father or uncle here): The poll that you all voted on with "who will be the biggest bad guy" had most of you voting on MATT. Thank you for that, it helped! Don't forget to vote on our current poll, results to be revealed next chapter. As long as I remember...

**CHALLENGES**

How long until Eagle breaks and tells them his code name? (Remember, he's trained SAS)

Will the sergeant get involved?

How long has Pete been dirty? Has he always been dirty, or did someone recently buy him off?

**BONUS**: Answer all challenges, and get a double the length sneak peek on **two days** this week, before Wednesday. (Alternatively, if we have 540 reviews, we'll update before then. We LOVE reading all your reviews! They mean so much to us, and really keep us going. For someone who said we should become published authors, THANK YOU! We're actually working on a book right now.) Review, and get a shorter sneak peak on each day. We'll even let you choose the days!

THANK YOU!


	31. Break Your Walls Down

A/N: Did you know you can log out of your account, and then review each chapter again as a guest? Meapinghorse has pointed this out to me by reviewing yet again to get enough reviews to update. So, if you're bored...

Challenge goal for next chapter: **580**. We know you can do it!

* * *

"Stop questioning him on his codename," Matt told Steven. "That's not important. They give them code names for a reason. Don't even bother trying to get out his real name. There are more important things we need to know." He crossed his arms. "How _dare you fucking betray me, you son of a bitch! _I used to be SO MAD at you and Ben for fighting, but now, you know what? Ben was obviously right! You were _obviously _dark side! I've promoted Ben on my staff. It doesn't matter though, your infiltration did nothing," Matt said. He raised his fist and struck Eagle again. The SAS man's eyes darkened but he gave no other expression he was being interrogated. "What do you know about Wolf?" he asked.

"Random," Steven commented.

"But important."

Steven nodded and said, "What do you know about the slave Wolf?"

"Nothing... I don't know anything important enough, because I would rather die than tell you anything about him," Eagle said. Honestly, these guys would never break him.

"Oh come on." Matt rolled his eyes. "Why bother to protect him? We already have him captive here. At the end of today, in fact, you and him will be on the truck with someone who is slave named Tiger and you will be forced to unload and load boxes."

"What fun, I can't wait. What are you going to do with the boxes after? Though you do realize you can't make me do anything I don't want to do, just like how I don't want to tell you my codename, and look you still don't know it."

"We do know it," Matt retorted angrily. "It's Seal."

"_Matt_," Steven warned. "Yes, we can make you do things you don't want to do. Do you know of a little brat named Monotaro?"

"No, but I do know a kid named Niles. His name is Niles, not that hard to remember!"

"We renamed him Monotaro. Niles sounds kind of like nails don't you think? Just as we renamed you 'Seal'," Matt told him with triumph. "What do you know about our organization, Seal? Who else knows?"

"No clue, you guys are running an organization? Well count me out."

"We're running a highly classified operation that is going to change the world and legalize slavery everywhere," Steven said. "We've already made slavery legal in the United Kingdom and in Afghanistan. Hey Matt? Can I own Seal? I don't have my own personal slave here and I'd really like a play toy."

"Right, not that you're already crazy." Eagle scoffed, "as if you could handle me."

"I could do a lot more then handle you. We would have so much fun."

"I would pay you to not have that experience, thanks."

"You couldn't, actually - we stole your wallet," Matt informed him. "Do you have any money on your VISA? I told Steven I'd take him out for lunch."

Steven slapped Matt. "Focus on the issues at hand, _please_. What do you know about our organization? Who have you told?"

"Oh, you know, just about everyone who matters. But seriously, what organization?" Eagle asked, wanting to get more information.

"You know what organization! Our organization!" Steven said, slapping him on the back of his head.

"Really now...if I did know your deep dark secrets, I wouldn't be wasting my breath to ask you!"

"Steven, I'm going to leave you two alone now. I want you to lay down the ground rules for Seal's new life as a slave," Matt said as he left the same way he came.

Steven grinned. "Sure, Seal, these are the new rules...First, no talking unless spoken to or asked a direct -"

"I broke that rule already," Eagle told Steven, grinning like a cat.

"Question," Steven finished. "If that happens then don't be surprised if you just so happen to lose your tongue. Second, you only get two meals a day - if you're lucky - so eat them. With those meals you are required to take your meds, oh who the hell cares, you will take the drugs that we have supplied. They cost a lot of money to make, so don't put them to waste. Thirdly, don't go anywhere unless you have me or Matt as an escort. This building is old, and falling down. So, if you were to say, oh I don't know, accidentally trip into the railing, and fall to the first story...well don't expect medical care. Fourthly, if anyone finds you walking around outside, you will be shot on sight, as simple as that. And last but not least, know that everything you do wrong, will be pinned on your kid Monotaro. We will all have witnesses saying we were somewhere else. We will get to him somehow, someway." Steven shrugged.

"Whether he holds up or not is based on your behavior, just remember that anything that goes down with him, you're responsible for cleaning his blood off the floor."

Eagle was shell shocked, not trusting his words, he simply nodded when asked if he understood.

"Great," Steven smirked. "We will get along finely."

Eagle felt his mind go blank, not knowing what to do now. He knew one thing though, Niles would not be pinned for his doing. It just wasn't going to be that way.

* * *

"Joe, are you okay?" Wolf asked as soon as Ben left, having thrust Joe into the room. "Why are you here? What happened?"

"Honestly I haven't got a clue. All I know is that Alex is there alone, and I don't know where Pete is."

"...Who brought you here, and why?"

"Ben, he came to my house, with Alex, threatening to kill him if I wouldn't let him in-"

"He _what?_" Wolf asked, his jaw dropping. That was so not what was supposed to go down. Speaking of which... "Wait, wait, start from the beginning."

"Well, that was the beginning... Except that he arrived on a helicopter."

"A helicopter? Where'd he get one of those?"

"If you keep interrupting me I can't tell you what happened."

"Sorry," Wolf said. He closed his eyes and took a breath. "Sorry. I was just worried about Alex. Okay, so the doofus arrives in a helicopter?"

"Yes, and he came in and almost took my arm off. He threatened to kill Alex, multiple times, and then we finally started conversing."

Wolf snorted. "And he accuses _me _of having a bad temper. So he kidnapped you and brought you here - why? And where is Alex?" He asked, looking around as if it would make the teen magically appear.

"Yes, though he had a good reason too. For both of your observations," Joe told him. "He took me instead of Eagle, and left Alex there so he would be safe."

"Wait, why would he take Eagle?" Wolf asked, and then added, "and he left Alex there so that he'd be away from me, I bet... At least he's safe from the bugs in here," he said, pointing towards the corner where there was a perfectly tailored bug.

"Exactly, which is what he did when he barged into my home."

Wolf shook his head. "I'm going to kill him, I swear. I wonder if, since he dropped off Alex, he's going to take ownership of me again..." he let his voice trail off as the door opened and Steven stepped in, dropping off the food.

"Hello boys," he said with a sneer. "You'll be loading your first truck in the morning, traveling with it to meet our supervisor, and unloading it in the afternoon. Matt will be driving the truck with Ben, and I'll be accompanying my slave, Seal, in another vehicle." Steven fixed Joe with a glare. "I just realized you hadn't been named yet..."

"I'm good with Joe, thanks though," he pipped up.

Steven launched forward and grabbed Joe by his uniform. "It is illegal in Afghanistan not to give slaves a slave name. As a former cop, you don't want to be seen breaking the rules, now do you?" he asked as he dropped Joe on the floor. "We'll name you Tiger. Matt will be in with your drugged breakfast at four a.m. tomorrow, so I suggest you get some sleep. Yes, this food is drugged. If you don't eat it, we'll double your dose." With that, he left the same way he came, slamming the metal door shut.

Wolf growled. "If only that door had a handle, I could pick the lock and be out of here. Did Ben say anything about what his plans are for you?"

With that, the door opened, and Ben barged in. "Well, well, look who it is. Tiger and Wolf." He grinned. "Do you know who Seal is?"

"No, maybe you should inform us," Wolf deadpanned.

"Seal is Steven's newest slave. You probably knew him as Johnson. Or Nick. Or one of his many undercover names." Ben crossed his arms and looked at Joe. "Did you know that Seal was undercover? If so, when did you find out?"

"It was actually when I first found Niles, on the side of the road, getting beaten by Matt-"

"He wasn't getting beaten by Matt," Ben interrupted as he leaned back against the wall, bored. "The slave was being punished by his owner. Correct your sentence, now."

"As far as I know, Nick is now Niles' father," Joe told him, ignoring his demand.

"We don't use the term _father _here," Ben said as Matt came in the room. "Matt, I may need your help. Joe won't say that you owned Monotaro."

Matt rolled his eyes. "Normally I'd be pissed but today, whatever. Do me a favor. I want to know what they know about Johnson."

"I know he was a lot nicer than you lot," Wolf cut in. "I'm glad he was trying to take down you bastards."

Ben launched towards Wolf, shoving him back against the door. "Shut. Up.," he said, backhanding him twice. He released Wolf's collar.

Matt picked up his knife and stood in front of Joe. "What do you know about Johnson? What was his code name? What was his operation? You were police, right, were you working together?"

"His codename? Seal, I thought we obviously established this? His operation was to get Niles away from you, and I would help anyone if that meant they never had to see you again."

"You son of a bitch!" Matt said as he punched Joe's arm. Joe cried out and yanked his arm away, making the blood drop on the floor.

Ben put his arm up to calm Matt down. "Matt, we need him alive enough for interrogation. Don't kill him yet. We've got Seal on base, we can always torture him for information as well, okay?"

"You kidnapped Nick?" Wolf asked, his mouth wide open as if he were surprised by this.

"Yes, we did. What are you going to do about it?" Ben asked in a condescending tone of voice. "Okay Joe, tell me what you know about Nick. Start from day one. Or we'll hurt Wolf."

"Nick...well he's a father and works in SAS, that's about all I know of him."

With that, Matt sighed and forced Wolf over by the mattress, forcing him down. He moved his knife closer to Wolf's neck, and Wolf had to force himself not to lash out and kill the bastard. "He's not a father. What does he do for the SAS? Tell me or I start gutting Wolf."

"Oh, you know SAS, always working to take down the bastards like you."

"Wrong answer," Matt said as he made a cut on Wolf's skin. Wolf refused to cry out or flinch. "What do you know about his SAS operation? Why would SAS send someone alone to infiltrate here? What the hell does SAS even do?"

"Well, I don't know exactly, but SAS is Special Air Service. Perhaps they're smarter than people pin them to be because they're looking in the right places."

Before Matt could kill Wolf with the knife, Ben intervened. "Matt, let's leave this operation alone for right this second, okay? We don't really need to know how much Seal's given away. We know that he hasn't given away this location, and that's enough," he said reassuringly. "However," he added to the two, "if someone else gives this location away, we'll know exactly who to suspect, won't we?"

With that, the two stormed out the door.

"Is he bipolar?" Joe asked Wolf, raising an eyebrow.

Wolf shook his head. "Nope. He just told us exactly who the leak was."

Joe paused. "Who the leak was?"

"...Yup. The leak just left the building."

Wolf knew exactly what Ben meant. As long as they could hang tight, back up was on the way.

* * *

"Wakey wakey," Steven said as he kicked Eagle, who was down on the floor. "You've been a bad, bad boy," he said as he looked at the handcuffs that had been disassembled. "Were you trying to get out the door? Too bad for you it's a metal door and the lock is on the other side." He grinned as he held out a small bag. "I want you to pick up the handcuff pieces, put them in this bag, and tell me exactly what you did wrong." With that, he dropped the bag on the floor next to Eagle.

Eagle coughed, and struggled to get up. "I failed to realize how much of a bastard you really are." He picked up the pieces of metal and set them in the bag.

"Wrong answer," Steven said as he dumped the handcuff pieces on the floor. "Let's try this again, you dumb ass. What did you do wrong? The previous answer has way too much to do with me and not enough to do with you."

"I would rather not...I seem to remember not having anything to drink in the past few days. Plus, not having the proper entertainment, what else was I supposed to occupy myself with?"

Steven sighed and shook his head before slamming the door. Two seconds later, he was back. He handed a glass of water to Eagle. "Drink it or I find Niles and slit his throat." The water contained Eagle's daily "medicine", aka drugs... some antidepressants to slow Eagle down, as well as another drug that would work on controlling him.

"This is probably filled up on drugs, right?" He asked as he took a sip, and gagged at the taste.

"I'm beginning to think you don't like our hospitality," Steven said as he leaned against the open door frame.

"By hospitality you mean - ohmygodwhatisthat -" Eagle pointed to the floor, and when Steven looked, he threw the whole glass at him, water and all, and ran out the door, forming a plan in his head, it was cut short when he crashed into something and fell to the floor. As he caught himself and looked up, he winced at who it was, and decided it would have been better if he stayed in that room.

"Now, now, where were you going?" the man said as he held out his pistol. "I don't recognize you, so you must be a slave... Your name, owner, and the mission you were on, boy!"

"Well you see I was currently making a diabolical plan to end all of this, but you just happened to be in the way. Now, would you move before I do something drastic?" Eagle said as he shifted so he could get up easier when the moment called for it.

"Oh, Mr. Heft, good," Steven said as he kept his gun drawn. "You found our new rebellious slave, Seal. Pete is his owner. I was actually just coming for your torture expertise help."

"Ah, yes. Seal. It is so sad when people think they're working for the country, and then end up betraying it," Mr. Heft said. "I bet you didn't know you betrayed the United Kingdom by spying on us, did you, boy?"

"What the hell is with everyone calling me boy? Its ridiculous, I have a name, even if it's Seal, you created it learn to use it!"

With that, Mr. Heft reached out and grabbed Eagle by the shirt, dragging him back into another room, different from the room he was just in. Eagle tried to fight back but found a firm grip on his hands from Steven. They dropped him to the floor. Someone slammed the door. "This is where we hold all our our secret meetings," Mr. Heft said. "It's also where we interrogate our prisoners. We generally don't get too many prisoners we need to interrogate, so I'm really looking forward to this. As far as the 'boy' thing, your name will be whatever the hell we feel like it should be and you should be damn lucky we aren't shooting you on site. Clear?" he held the pistol an inch away from Eagle's head and his finger locked on the trigger.

Eagle wrinkled his nose up, "So, you have meetings in the same place you do interrogation... For everyone else's' sake, I hope you hire a good clean up crew."

"We are not bothered by such things as blood," Mr. Heft told him as he kicked Eagle down once more. "Name, age and rank, boy. Where did you train?"

Steven winced. "SAS. He trained in the SAS."

"What's your rank? What is your unit letter? What is your name? Who is your supervisor?"

"My rank is better than yours. My unit letter is somewhere in between A-Z. My name, I'm not even going to tell you because you keep insisting that I'm 'boy' now, then so be it. My supervisor is definitely not you, which is why your orders don't matter to me, caprese?"

"What's your name, boy?"

Eagle huffed, "Boy. Are you really that dense? You just used it!"

"What's the name your parents gave you, boy?"

"They were more carefree parents, and let me decide later on in life to change it. So I did...oh, did you not get the memo?"

"What. Is. Your. Name. On. Your. Birth. Certificate."

"Well, why don't you ask Pete? After all he 'owns' me now, surely he has something along those lines."

"Your name, dammit!" Heft said as he kicked the down Eagle.

"Shit. Whatever you want it to be, alright?" Eagle said, holding his hurt knee.

"What's your name, you son of a bitch!" Heft said again as he grabbed the knife from his pocket. "Hold his legs, Steven." Steven did so as Heft grabbed Eagle by the arm, making a long, deep, cut. "You deserve this," he told Eagle. "You deserve every bit of this."

"So you say-" Eagle bit his tongue to stop a scream as Heft stabbed him again.

"What's your name? Tell me or I start getting your arm," Heft said.

Eagle knew that if they got his name, they would think that they could get everything else. "My name is absolutely none of your business. Leave me alone, I think the bleeding out process would go by much quicker if you just left me alone!"

"Thank you for the water, Steven," Heft said. Eagle glanced up and saw another glass of water, this time with a small handful of accompanying pills. "We will make you a deal. You take the water and drugs and we'll stop torturing you for now. We have things to do. But if you don't take the water and the drugs we'll find someone and leave them in here to torture you all night. And then we'll shove them down your throat. What say?"

"I get an option?" Eagle asked while staring at the pills, thinking it over, weighing the possibilities, in which would end in his favor. He sighed while saying, "I'll take it."

"Good boy. Now I won't go and get Monotaro for your last stunt, but if you do not drink the water, I will get him for this stunt. You don't want that, do you? He's in good hands. I can see where he is at all times," Pete says. "You want to know who has him right now?"

"Honestly I think I would pass..." Eagle said, not wanting to get emotional over something he had no control over.

"Dr. Cameroons, remember him? The one who treated Wolf and Cub. He's keeping both Cub and Alex custody for us right now," Heft said even as Eagle swallowed the drugs.

Eagle had to stop himself from choking. Snake had both of the kids! He couldn't have wished for a more motherly caretaker while Wolf and he were away. He'd just better keep them safe, on second thought with all that they'd been through he wishes the kids luck. Snake could be brutal when it comes to people's health.

* * *

A/N: Don't worry, there will be more Alex the next chapter. Sorry for the lack of him this chapter, but it was needed for plot development.

**THANK YOU** all for your reviews. We read each one and LOVE THEM. Sorry for not giving out two sneak peaks, but we thought you'd rather have the earlier update you earned!

Next update will be on Friday, unless 580 reviews are achieved (only 39 more to go, you can do it!)

Challenges:  
What's Eagle going to do now that he knows Snake has the kids?

What's Joe's thought on all this? Do you think he's earned his status as a legit cop?

Which character, other than Alex, would you like to make sure we include in the next chapter?

See you in ch32!

-Writers4all


	32. Fun With Film Cameras

_A/N: A huge thank you to **GUEST**! I was going to post this tomorrow, but I felt like the 15-20+ reviews deserved a today update. My apologies for not getting out the sneak peaks, but I thought you'd rather have the chapter!_

* * *

"Why do you trust Snake, Alex?" Monotaro asked as he looked at him.

"Why don't you?" Alex tossed back in his face. "I trust him, Monotaro. He's a good guy. I think you'll trust him more when you get to know him."

"I want Eagle," Monotaro sighed as he looked at him. "I trust him."

"I know. I - look, Niles... I met them at a training camp for soldiers, okay? Snake's a good guy. You've got nothing to worry about from him."

"I know. And I do trust them. I just feel like everyone I trust..." he looked down at his hands.

"Turns darkside. I know."

Snake opened the door to the room just then. "You two okay?"

"Yeah, why?"

"Just checking. Sarge and I have a video to watch, and it's not exactly...just stay upstairs, okay?"

Alex replied, "Sure, no problem." Snake leaves to go back downstairs, shutting the door behind him.

Niles is the one to protest after Snake shuts the door. "My life is a worse rated movie. Why can't I watch it?" he asked Alex.

"It's probably… it's for your safety. He doesn't do things for no reason." Alex let out a breath. "I'm sorry about Eagle, Niles."

"It's okay," Niles said as he looked down at the ground. "I just hope we get him back."

"Me, too," Alex said as he looked at the ceiling. He hoped they got them all back.

* * *

"So, now that you know who's got them hostage, you'll listen, right?" Heft asked as he moved the knife closer to Eagle's throat.

"Sure, whatever you say..." He said, while planning the fastest escape plan. He didn't want to think about who he was going to deck first when this was all said and done.

The next thing he knew, he was knocked to the ground, unconscious.

* * *

"What are we doing now?" Wolf asked irritably after he and Joe had been locked into the cage that sat sequestered into the back part of the truck. That was the part of the truck that Wolf found creepiest. Clearly Matt was used to hauling people around to do his dirty work. He shivered. "And are you okay after all that torture?"

"I'm fine," Joe told him.

"...With the cuts and bruises all over your arm? Don't fuck with me Joe, you're not okay. You don't need to baby me, didn't Seal tell you anything about my special role?" He was careful to use Matt's new name for Eagle, not wanting to risk revealing anything in the truck.

"No, honestly he didn't. He was too busy being kidnapped, so why don't you fill me in?"

Wolf groaned, surely the K-Unit had told Joe _something _about how he was an SAS leader. "Joe, I can't really explain..." he closed his eyes and lowered his voice. "Okay, you know SAS right? What they're accusing Seal of being apart of?"

"Yes, something along the lines of Special Air Services. Though I never knew what was going on."

Really lowering his voice, Wolf said, "I know this may be hard to imagine, but pretend to see me as Seal's unit leader for a second. It's a big stretch, I know. I mean, you know my life now. But _imagine _seeing me like that..." he said, dropping off as he stared at the ceiling before he looked down at the ground. He couldn't help but think of everything he lost. He fucking hated being a slave. "Course, I wonder what Seal thinks of me now," he muttered.

"Okay...what does this have to do with Seal though?"

Wolf groaned. "I'm going to assume they think he's a traitor. I guess you - no, you were there. Remember when Seal told Jonah he was MI6/SAS to protect Monotaro?"

"Yes, everyone couldn't believe it."

Wolf could believe that. "Did you see anyone named 'Johnson' or 'Steve', not Matt's brother, on all those hours of tape you scrolled through? He usually would have been fighting with Ben."

"Yes, though he looked vaguely familiar."

"He was probably mouthing off to Ben the entire time he was at Matt... oh, god, it was awful. Didn't you see any of that on the tape?"

"Did I see any of it? That was what they were doing the whole time they stepped in the same room."

_Flashback_

_Joe sighed as he sat scrolling through the tape, watching as Ben walked into the same room that Steve was in. Steve instantly groaned as he dropped into the chair. "Do you HAVE to be at EVERY one of Matt's meetings?" he complained. "I think Monotaro would feel safer without you here." _

"_Well sorry, I'm his right hand man, I just cannot not come," Ben explained._

_Steven launched himself up. He looked tired of taking Ben's shit, and Joe had to wonder why the man was even involved. "Well, you better leave your paws off of Monotaro. He always looks scared around you. Why is that?" Steve knew exactly why it was, it was because Monotaro was terrified of everyone right now. He didn't blame the kid. But it gave him a new reason to fight with Ben.  
_  
"_Why are you looking at me like that? I did nothing to that brat, though I should..." at that exact second, a teenager came into the room. Joe winced, wondering what was going to happen. _

"_Oh shit!" Monotaro exploded, backpedaling away from Ben. "I'm sorry. I'm sorry. I was just going to get w-water for the s-slaves. I'm sorry, I'm sorry sir." _

"_Come over here, now." Ben snapped his fingers._

"_N-No, please sir!" the teenager said, a tear streaming down his face. Joe watched closely to see how the other adults would react. He always felt bad when kids got involved._

"_Leave Monotaro alone," Steve said as he maneuvered over towards his slave. "I decide how to discipline him, NOT YOU. Aren't we clear on that? God, and you said Monotaro was stupid - I think he's much smarter than you." _

_Monotaro sniffled. "I'm sorry I'm stupid, sir." _

"_Wow, the kid actually knows what he's talking about for once," Ben remarked, glancing at Monotaro. "Fine then, get out of my sight. I don't want to see you for the rest of the week. Understand?"_

_Steve stepped up, blocking Monotaro from Ben. "You have your own slave to abuse," he said coldly. "Monotaro, go get the slaves some water. I'm sure they're thirsty." As soon as the terrified teen fled the room, Steve turned back to Ben. "Would you leave my slave the fuck alone? What the hell is wrong with you? Are you jealous of him, or something? Good god, why do you keep fighting with me?" _

"_I am not jealous of a slave, I just believe - no I __**know **__- that you're treating him too nice. I fight with you because you're a liar. You're doing something besides this aren't you? Well let me tell you that having a life outside this ring is strictly forbidden, got it?"_

_Eagle snorted. "Then why does Matt not mind if I run my business?" To keep up his cover, Eagle freelanced from home doing some writing shit and some other crap. That was what Ben was talking about. It was also what he used Monotaro as his personal assistant for. Although the kid spent most of his time studying for his GED. _

_Monotaro came back through the room, his hands full of three bottles of water for the slaves-Wolf, Cub, and himself. The room was unfortunately the only room back down to the basement. Ben and Steve had both been early. "Sorry sir," he said as he practically ran back down._

"_I fucking hate what you did to him," Eagle said as Matt entered the room, "and one day, I WILL get you for this." _

"_Oh, I look forward to that day," Ben said._

_Matt chose that moment to enter the room. "Good God, I think the slaves get along better than you two. Is there something I should know?"_

_End flashback_

Wolf snorted. "That sounds like Ben. He was _always _fighting with Steve-Seal," he quickly corrected himself.

"Yes, did they have something in the past? They seem to hate each other quite - all the time," Joe asked.

Wolf nodded, not wanting to give away Ben. He didn't know how much the K-Unit had revealed while he was gone. "Yeah, Ben abuses children and Seal was abused as a child. Ben would always go after Monotaro, although I think that was to get Seal mad more than anything," Wolf said. "Ben's a bastard."

"I can see that. Seal cares a lot for Monotaro," he said, before nodding his head. "You couldn't be more right."

Wolf breathed a sigh. "Yeah. I still don't get why he infiltrated the ring though," he said, shooting a look to Joe that said they were trying to keep cover. "Do you know anything about that?"

"He spoke about wanting to get the kids free after all of this was said and done.

Wolf nodded. "That sounds like him. He was nice to me, too." He glanced out at the boxes they'd have to unload. "What do you think they're going to do to him?"

"I'm not entirely sure, but Ben kept calling him a traitor, so I would imagine they're asking him questions."

"Damn," Wolf muttered. "But why would they be calling him a traitor? He seemed like he really wanted to work in the ring." He shot Joe a look that clearly said that he didn't believe what he was saying; however, he was quite certain that there were bugs in the truck somewhere.

"Oh yeah, he did manage to say that he enjoyed working with Matt and Steven," Joe told him.

"So why are they torturing him?" Wolf was pretending to play the part of the "confused and stupid" slave. He hoped it convinced Matt.

"Simple," he shrugged, "Because they don't like anyone defecting."

Wolf shook his head. "Damn, I thought I was on Matt's bad side."

"Oh we all are, just Seal is higher up on the line."

* * *

"...Great," Snake muttered as he held the video and note in his hands. The note was clearly from Ben - he'd recognize his partner's dyslexic handwriting from anywhere - and it read:

_Thanks for keeping track of Cub and Monotaro. We've got Johnson, he's defected. Don't trust him. We're interrogating him for information. Thought you and the kids might find the video an interesting watch. Although I don't think the video is rated PG. _

Translation: if he wanted to avoid an anxiety attack from Cub and Monotaro he needed to put them to bed first. Which he did. The door opened, and Snake glanced over. It was the sergeant.

"Hey," he said as he handed the man the note. "Ready to watch some television?"

"Who is Johnson? Isn't that like, a bath soap or something?"

Snake had to restrain himself from snorting. "Nope. Nick. Monotaro's adopted parent," he said. "They think I'm still on their side," he explained. "You're just a good friend who's happening to be visiting for the weekend. Rank excluded," he added with a raised eyebrow.

"Well, can't say I brought popcorn, but let's play that movie. I want to know what all the fuss is about," the sergeant said as he sat down in the nearest chair.

Snake nodded and slid the video in.

_-video-_

"_Time to get up," Ben said as he came in the room, dumping the bucket of water he had on Eagle's head. Eagle darted awake instantly, his hands restricted slightly by the handcuffs. Ben grabbed the soaking wet SAS man and shoved him against the wall. "I didn't say you could GET up yet," he added._

"Nice, he confuses the person before they ever get a chance to start," Snake muttered with a shake of his head.

"I had no clue Fox was this psychotic?" The sergeant said.

"_Wakey, wakey, little Seal," Ben said on the video tape. "Time to get up. We've got a long day of FUN ahead of us..." _

"_Describe, FUN, because I assure you our definitions are total opposites," Eagle grumbled._

"_Aww, what, didn't you get your morning cup of coffee?" Ben cooed. "Well too bad for you, we don't have good coffee here in Afghanistan. Especially not in the town of _Badakhshān_," he said. _

Snake glanced at the sergeant. "Ben's giving us info," he said. "Smart ass," he muttered. "There's a reason why he's up there and I'm not." He shook his head as he wrote down the name of the town.

"_Morning Ben, morning Seal," Steven said as he came in with Matt. "Or should I say, GOOD morning Ben, BAD morning Seal? You see our top dog will be meeting with us soon and we need to figure out why you were here before he gets here." _

"_Why can't you say I'm just like any other slave? Is it because I'm better than them?" Eagle asked._

"I wonder where he gets his sense of humor," the sergeant muttered out loud.

"_No, it's because you're a TRAITOR!" Ben said as he kicked his former teammate. Eagle gasped out in pain and moved to protect his ribs. "I was right all along. You couldn't handle the abuse you had as a child, could you? That's why you're here. You thought you could do something GREAT or something. Well, guess what! We found out your true motives!" With that, he kicked Eagle again._

_Steven smirked, getting down near Eagle's face. "He's right. You're screwed. We're actually doing you a favor, you know."_

"_Fuck this, if this is a favor, I don't want to know what punishment is. I need a miracle to survive."_

"_Things could be much worse. We could be leaving you alone with him," Steven said, pointing at Ben._

"Clearly, he's kept under the covers," Snake muttered.

"_I don't know... he only kicks..." Eagle said as he maneuvered the handcuffs so that he was wrapping his arm around his waist._

"_I can do much, much, more than kick, I assure you," Ben said. "I can torture your kid brat, but I thought that it would be better not too...I thought we could get more out of you. Although I don't know... how much have you told your kid?" _

"_I take your word for it, and don't hurt Niles he knows nothing!"_

"_That's not his name," Matt said as he took the knife from Ben and moved closer towards Eagle. "What's his name?" _

"_Niles."_

"_What's his name? I don't know anyone named Niles," Matt said as he used the knife to draw a long line in Eagle's skin. _

Snake could clearly see Ben roll his eyes. Matt was way too into this slave name crap.

"_If his name isn't the one that I gave him, than I'm sorry to say that I'm not Seal anymore."_

"_What's the name I gave him? Because news flash, you don't own him!" _

"_Of course I don't own him, I adopted him. That means so much more, I doubt you would understand."_

"_I don't understand you sometimes!" Matt said, enraged. He grabbed the knife and made towards Eagle's arm. _

Snake winced and looked over at the sergeant. "I've seen worse," he muttered. "Eagle's doing the right thing though. He's distracting him."

_"That's cool, the feeling is mutual!" Eagle responded as he moved away from Matt's knife, or at least as he attempted too. Ben put his hand on Matt's shoulder. "Matt, we need to think carefully, okay? Getting mad at him for not saying Monotaro's slave name lets him win. Let's focus on the present. What does he know about our operation in Badakhshān? Does he know what Niles' job title would be here? Does he know that we're meeting with the boss in a day and a half less than a mile from here? That sort of thing."_

_"Yes, you're right..." Matt muttered, calming himself down as he turned. He handed the knife over to Steven. "I'm going to go kill somebody, I can't handle this." With that, he turned and walked out of the room._

_"Oh, goody, I get to break in my new slave," the man said with obvious delight. Ben rolled his eyes._

"He's leaving us every clue we need," the sergeant said with a shake of his head. "We know they're in Badakhshān. We know that they're using kids, and probably Wolf and Joe, as slaves."

_"_He's a psychopath," Snake agreed.

_"Ben, why don't you leave me alone for a few minutes so I can break in Seal?"_

_"I don't think breaking in revolves around people, you're looking for the word shoes," Eagle said, while he ducked a swift smack._

_Ben shook his head. "I think I better make sure you don't kill him, here." He leaned against the wall. "Besides, I want to be here when he breaks." He didn't mention that he knew Eagle wasn't going to break anytime soon and that he wanted to make sure his friend didn't get himself killed. "Or lies," he added._

_"Well the day I lie is when you quit your current occupation."_

_"Right, right, that's why you won't tell us your codename," Steven said. Eagle was laying down on the floor, his hands handcuffed behind his back. Ben was still leaning against the wall. Steven sighed as he squatted closer to Eagle's face. "You never lie, hmmm? Then why won't you tell us your rank?"_

_"If you must know, my rank. I'll give you a hint, between the letter A-Z."_

_"I need the EXACT unit letter!" Steven said, kicking him. Eagle could hardly move to protect himself._

_Eagle coughed before continuing, "Fine, fine, don't get pissy. It's the letter 'E' which is higher than yours I can say that much."_

_Ben had just taken a sip of the water he was drinking and nearly spit it out, laughing. Steven glanced at him. "I don't get it. What's so funny?"_

"Oh, God," Snake moaned off screen, "I can't believe he's actually doing that. We joked around once that in basic training, if we ever got caught, we were going to give the wrong unit letter out. Since none of our code names started with K, we'd give the letter our code name started with. Great, that means he's in need of a bailout sooner rather than later."

"You guys are morons...but remind me to give you each a raise once this is all over," the sergeant told him before turning his attention back to the television.

"Sorry," Ben said, composing himself. "I just thought it was funny that he knew that there actually was an E in the alphabet."

"I am a lot smarter than you think! In fact, ask me a question, I rule in trivia."

Ben groaned. "I think the doctor got the easier job," he muttered as he knelt down. "Why did you adopt Monotaro? He's a slave, nobody cares about him. Did you do it as part of the case? Or did you do it because it felt good?"

"I did it because it was the right thing to do. You were a child once, how do you think it would feel if you were owned by someone? Commanded to do stupid things, and to eat drugs as if they were candy? I did Niles a favor by taking him away from Matt - wait, I take that back, he's better off away from you!"

Ben reached out and twisted his arm, growling. "Are you sure you can't leave us alone, Steven?" he asked.

"I'll go grab a drink, just don't kill him," Steven mumbled as he glanced at Ben, then Eagle, before walking out, closing the door behind him.

"Listen here, you miserable little brat," Ben said as he moved his knife closer to Eagle, forcing the SAS man to pay attention, "You think you're so cool and that rescue's on the way, well you're wrong. Rescue is NEVER on the way."

"That means he needs backup, stat," Snake muttered to the sergeant. "I don't blame him-I'd be worried they're going to kill Eagle at the rate they're going."

"Ben wouldn't do that on purpose...now on account of rage, perhaps," the sergeant shrugged.

"I was more thinking Steven and Matt. They've probably never encountered a situation like this. More than that, though, this was the code for when he needed his ass rescued," Snake explained.

"Now, you have to understand me when rescue isn't coming," Ben said. "Rescue isn't coming in one day, it's not coming in two days, and it's CERTAINLY not coming in three days. Got that? It's NOT coming in three days when we're meeting with our biggest boss."

Eagle blinked, "So...the supposed 'back-up' is NOT coming in three days? Sucks, what am I supposed to do with my time? Talk to you? I'll pass."

"He's giving us three days to plan a mission to take out the boss," Snake said as he shook his head. "I hope you got some teams on standby, Sarge."

"Sarge is Eagle's nickname for me and Eagle's nickname only," the sergeant grunted. "I don't have a lot of teams on standby, and technically you're working on six's time. However, there are some newbies who have been there ten weeks who could use some training..." he let his voice trail off.

"You make some phone calls," Snake said as he saw the kids come downstairs. "I'll take the kids to grab a bite to eat."

* * *

A/N: Sorry that there are only 238 words of Niles and Alex this chapter; that's actually a scene I wrote in tonight. The real Alex and Monotaro action happens next chapter, which I have to edit. *Sigh* Enjoy your update! I will reply to all of your reviews tomorrow. Please know that I really do appreciate them. Torn Apart Paper Dinosaur does, too.

Challenge: When is the supposed back up 'not coming?' (Freebie!)

Challenge: What will happen in the next chapter?**  
**

Challenge: How will the newbies work out?

Challenge: What will happen next?

Again, sorry for no sneak peaks - but I thought you'd rather have the chapter! Enjoy!


	33. The Hunt Begins

NOTE: Italics are when the video is being played. Non-italics are others talking in the "present." If it doesn't make sense, p.m. me. More Alex in this chapter. Hope you enjoy ~ ! (Thanks to Lightning and Blossoms, who inspired the idea of Eagle being the youngest!)

* * *

"_There will be a lot of people here in those three days. Many important, prominent figures that the American FBI and other such British police, as well as thousands of other government agencies, would rather take alive," Ben continued, ignoring Eagle. "What do you think of that, hmm? Maybe they'll all get a little piece of you. It's really too bad you don't have backup coming. Not like you'd need big back up or anything. They wouldn't even get through. Each of our guards and workers - not our slaves, of course - will be carrying a wonderful AK-47," _Fox's voice said from the television.

"Is Fox really leaking all the details to us?" Snake muttered in disbelief. "Damn, this guy's good, it's no wonder why MI6 hired him."

"No wonder we couldn't keep him...he would be blowing things up left and right," the sergeant remarked. "Or bribing other people to blow them up left and right while he maintained his cover." The sergeant smirked at that.

"_Really? Ak-47s are such weak guns," Eagle chided. "I personally can't STAND them, but then again, what do I know, nothing according to you lot. But you don't know much either. You don't even know my code name, do you? Does Steven REALLY know my code name?"_

_Ben coughed, covering up a laugh, "Steven didn't even understand what SAS meant. So no, I don't think he knows you're real code name. Though he keeps insisting that you're Seal now, which you are, got that?"_

"_I am not Seal," Eagle said. "I have a name, and for Pete's sake, it's not boy either!"_

_Ben rolled his eyes. "Are we really back on this idiotic topic again? And I suppose you think Monotaro's name is actually Niles," he cooed._

"_Yes, we really are 'back on this topic again'. It's going to keep continuing if you don't stop calling Niles by his slave name!" Eagle retorted. He was trying to get the discussion away from his code name. _

_Ben sighed and shook his head before kicking Eagle. "You really need to stop this idiocy," he said as Steven came in. "Steven, can't you communicate to Seal that he just needs to surrender everything?"_

"_Sure," Steven said. He leaned over, looking into Eagle's face. "Surrender everything," he demanded. _

"_As if, you first. Take a breath mint while you're at it, you're too close and your breath smells. What'd you have for breakfast? Tuna fish?" _

"_Surrender everything before I beat your ass! And you're the one who needs to take a breath mint, you haven't showered in three days!" Steven shouted, ignoring Eagle's previous comment only because he wanted to torture him. _

"_I've been here three days, and haven't showered, so how is that going to help my breath? What's your excuse then? Does it run in the family, because Matt could use one too."_

"_Does what run in the family?" Steven asked, totally confused. _

"_Bad breath. Do you even own a toothbrush?" Eagle asked, his voice sounding as though he was hiding a smirk._

"_Did Matt really say we can't kill him?" Steven complained to Ben. _

"_Yes, those were his orders for me, and your orders too, if I recall them right," Ben said, covering Eagle._

"_These handcuffs hurt," Eagle whined._

_"If you don't like the discomfort, you shouldn't have decided to become a traitor," Steven snapped. _

"_Nah, I think I would rather suffer – because really, it'll only be for a few days- - then be on your side," Eagle said, attempting to get rid of the handcuffs._

"_Only for a few days, boy?" Steven spat, furious at the mere suggestion. "We own you for a lifetime. We own you blood, flesh and soul." _

"_Do you always go off of what a piece of paper says? Whether it's legal or not is another matter entirely. However you can't own my blood, flesh, or soul...unless you're the devil, which could be possible considering who you're related to."_

"_You bitch!" Steven exploded. "How DARE You talk to me that way? And to think you're the oldest of your unit! Or at least the most responsible, because nobody else is around!" _

"_You really need to check your research next time...I'm not the oldest. In fact quite the opposite."_

"_What's the opposite of oldest?" Steven asked, glancing at Ben._

_Ben put his face in his head and closed his eyes. "Why the hell did I get the job of making sure you didn't kill him?" _

"_Why? What's so bad about what I said?"_

Off screen, the sergeant just shook his head. "Ya'know, I actually feel _bad _for Ben."

"No comment," Snake muttered. "I'm a little curious as to why he sent us this entire video, though."

"Clearly, there's important information here somewhere else - we need to look for it. I think Eagle's doing that two lies and a truth thing."

"He is?"

"He just told the truth - he's the youngest of your unit," the sergeant commented. "And it's a good truth too. Every unit has a youngest, something Steven clearly doesn't seem to get."

"_Why are you laughing?" Steven said, turning towards Ben. "What's so funny?" _

"_What's funny is that you are dumber than some kid in kindergarten if you don't know what the opposite of older is."_

_Steven rolled his eyes. "Everyone knows that. It's the youngest. But what do you mean by the opposite of the oldest?" _

_Ben groaned. Loudly. "I think he means he's the youngest."_

_Steven rounded on Ben. "No, he doesn't! He's clearly got some hidden meaning in that sentence!"_

"Insane guy," Snake muttered.

"Seconded," the sergeant said. He had been taking notes on a piece of paper, not wanting to watch this twice. He knew that Steven reacted badly when he was made fun of, Ben was coming very close to Matt's second in command (and if Steven was high up on Matt's chain, he could hardly blame Matt), and the name of the town they were in. He also knew that they were holding Eagle as a prisoner of war, which enabled them to act on different grounds, and fast.

There was at least one positive thing about the situation… they were able to act fast.

"_Did you ever think to consider that maybe, MAYBE he actually gave you a factual bit of information about himself?" Ben said with a roll of his eyes. He nudged Eagle's arm with his foot. Eagle had rolled over on his stomach and was squirming. _

"Why is he trying to get out of his handcuffs? He can't go anywhere," Snake muttered.

"_I need to pee. Now!" Eagle demanded._

"_...I do believe he thinks he gets to make a request," Steven said to Ben, completing ignoring Eagle's statement._

_Ben rolled his eyes. "Steven, shut up. I'm going to take him and continue the interrogation live in prime time."_

"Oh my God," the sergeant said, horrified. "We're watching this live."

"_...Eww," Eagle said from his spot on the ground._

"_That's a good idea, Ben. Take him before I kill him," Steven said. _

"_Yeah, Ben. Hurry it up would you?" Eagle complained._

"_Shut up if you don't want him to kill you," Ben snapped. _

"We need to start planning," the sergeant interrupted. "Leave this up and running, God knows what will happen if we press pause - and start calling people. I'm going to call my temporary replacement and tell him to start shipping units over here. We need to move, pronoto."

* * *

"Yo Snake! Good to see you!" Bunny from D-Unit said enthusiastically. "You must be livin' the life man, you aren't at SAS with the rest of us!"

The sergeant turned towards Bunny, shaking his head no, only to be interrupted by Snake.

Snake rounded on Bunny with clenched fists. "You're here to rescue my teammate, who is currently being tortured! I am most certainly not living the life!"

"Whoa, easy man!" Bunny said, backing up suddenly.

"Snake, don't kill him. I won't be able to cover that up," the sergeant cautioned.

"Are you positive? I'm sure someone has the skills needed," Snake glanced at the units in front of him, "Any takers?"

Bunny rolled his eyes. "Why so pissed, man? It's not my fault your teammate's being tortured-"

"Actually, it is your fault, Bunny," Snake said, sneering the word. "Since, after all, you were the one who told Eagle that our unit was too good to have another fill-in. Why waste time on one if it was setting us back? Well if we had one we wouldn't be in this mess!" Snake didn't mention that Bunny was actually the one who had been supposed to be the fourth person. They both knew it.

"...Why the hell was K-Unit chosen from this mission anyway? Favors from above?" Bunny demanded, instantly going on the defensive.

"Well those favors must hate us, because less than two days into the mission Wolf got kidnapped, and he was supposed to be the slave owner, not a slave! Do you have any idea what the hell he's gone through Bunny? He's been forced to work practically day and night, and is now in some damn Afghan town hoping we'll save him because he can't conquer the entire ring by himself! We've been working non-stop, 24/7 for the past three months, worrying and waiting for the right moment - now - while Eagle was being tortured-"

"S-Snake?" Niles said as he came down the stairs on socked feet. Cub followed down, looking less than pleased to see another SAS unit there. The second truck was on its way. "W-Who are these people?"

"Yeah, who's your guy there? You look like you're about ready to kill him," Alex added. "I'm not saying you don't have a right, but killing isn't usually sanctioned when it's the good guy."

"Who are the kids and why are they here? Did you become a parent while I was away, Snake?" Mouse asked innocently. "They grew up awfully fast-"

Snake glared at Mouse before swiftly walking out of the room, slamming the door on his way out.

"What'd I do?" Mouse asked the open room.

"I think it was actually your partner in crime, Bunny, who opened his big mouth first," Alex said. Niles was on the verge of panicking when Alex spoke up a second time. "Look, guys, I don't know what you do know and don't know about the mission. Snake hasn't adopted either Niles or me. I'm Wolf's brother, and he has my legal custody because my legal guardian and parents both died. Niles' mom really belongs in the institution-"

"Alex!" Niles whined, glaring at him even though he knew the statement was true.

"What're you mad at me for? She does! Anyway, so Eagle's adopted Niles. And Bunny, you're number one on Snake's shit list right now. You're lucky he didn't kill you. You know he's got a degree in medicine right?"

"What's that got to do with anything?"

Alex snorted. "It means for one thing, he could bury you alive and not leave any evidence. For another thing, I know you were actually supposed to be transferred to Snake's unit before the start of the mission. I don't know why you weren't, or what happened, but you were actually supposed to have Eagle's role, in which case you would have adopted Niles and you would be being tortured right now, so I suggest you shut up to save your ass, okay?"

"No, he already knew how to swear, no help from us needed," Snake said, ruffling the kid's hair. The move earned Snake a sharp kick to the ribs.

"Sorry, Snake," Bunny blushed. "I guess I just got defensive."

"I can vouch that he says stupid things when he gets defensive," Mouse said, daring Bunny to contradict him. "It probably has something to do with being named 'Bunny', right Sarge?"

The sergeant snorted. "I'm staying out of this one, and Eagle is the only one who gets to call me Sarge. Snake, you're in charge while I go check in on my people."

"Sure, just don't expect everyone to be here when you get back," he smirked.

Bunny rolled his eyes. "Want to have a sparring match?" he asked, still looking hurt about the comments.

"Kids here!" Alex volunteered, practically shoving Niles out of his way. "Niles, you are about to meet some of the weirdest, most interesting people who have no lives during this time frame."

"Alex, of course they have lives. They're living right there," Niles gestured towards them.

Alex resisted the urge to hit his head on the wall while Snake spoke up, "It's a figure of speech Niles, don't think too much."

"...Of course it's a figure of speech, he's talking!" Niles retorted as he crossed his arms.

"Where did you get this kid?" Mouse asked. "Kid, you're priceless."

Bunny cuffed Mouse on the back of the head and whispered, "Mouse, I already dug us far enough in the dog house."

"But there's no dog house here!" Niles spoke up. "So I declare you out of the dog house. You're too big to fit in one anyway," he added to Bunny.

Alex sighed, "Niles...give it a rest!"

"Sure," Niles said, then fell down on the floor in a faint.

"Not that kind of rest!" Alex groaned.

Niles pulled himself up. "Oh. Okay." He grinned. "So are you guys Nick's rescue team?"

"NILES! Eagle! His name is Eagle!" Alex said.

Niles shot him a weird look. "...His name is-"

"Just go with me," Alex responded.

"Right. So are you guys on Eagle's rescue team? If so, I hope someone braver than you is showing up. Why did you guys get the names you got, anyway?"

Bunny sighed and shook his head. "We're keeping you around, Kid. Why I got the nickname bunny is between me and the sergeant, but as for Mouse, well, Mouse is just small. And his voice squeaks."

"My voice does not squeak!"

"Actually, it kinda does," Snake said, coming into the room. "Can I talk to you two for a second?" he added, gesturing towards the room.

"Yes," Niles said and followed him. Alex did the same.

"Everyone has code names in the SAS, Niles. Alex, you know that. I'm changing your nickname Cub-"

"Thank God," Alex deadpanned.

"Yeah, so your code name now is going to be Flamingo."

"Alex isn't a bird," Niles said to Snake with a grimace. "Come on, even Bunny and Mouse have a better name!"

"Well sorry, it's not as if I hand out these nicknames on a regular basis, that's the sergeant's job!"

"What's mine then?" Niles asked, crossing his arms and looking worries.

"Ummm," Snake glanced around the kitchen, and saw a black book. "You're Black Hound."

"Wait, so you name Niles, Black Hound, and I get Flamingo? I call bullshit!"

"Very well Cub. I'll change it. You will now be Basset Hound," Snake declared. "Although if you want your name to be bullshit, that's fine with me too, none of the guys mind swearing."

"I think Basset Hound is better," Niles whispered.

"Couldn't agree more," Alex responded. "Hey Hound One to Hound Two, let's light up this Popsicle stand!"

"But we aren't in a Popsicle stand!"

Snake groaned as he watched Alex and Niles banter back and forth. He could tell that Niles was finally starting to realize what a figure of speech was and was only playing.

"...But Alex, you shouldn't go soak your head in water! You already took your shower!"

For the first time in his career, Snake hoped that Eagle came back soon. He didn't know how much more of Niles' brand of sarcasm he could take, even though it was funny.

Niles winked at Snake as Alex groaned his way out of the room. "Don't worry. I know what he means. But it's a really, really, easy way to wind him up, and who knows, it may just save my ass later."

"Kid," Snake said with a shake of his head, "I don't know what DNA tests say, but you are definitely related to Eagle."

"I know, he adopted me."

Snake groaned even as Bunny came in the room.

_Eagle, get back soon before I kick your kid's ass, please... I have less patience than you do, apparently. Who'd have thought?! But I swear to you, I will keep that kid safe._

* * *

Challenges:

Will they be able to get everyone back safely? If not, who will remain captured?

How long until the raid takes place?

What do you think of Bunny?

Which of Alex's code names do you think fit him better: Basset Hound, Bull**** or Flamingo? o.0

Enjoy! Sorry for the delay. Next chapter to be posted on **Sunday**, sneak peaks on **Saturday**. (If I can give out the date, I can remember to post the sneak peaks!) WE LOVE YOUR REVIEWS!


	34. Poster News

_* Alison is borrowed with permission of the Goddess who is on earth, Sekai/NightmareWorld. That means her use is copyrighted. She belongs to Sekai, who has greatly allowed us to borrow her. Please contact NightmareWorld before borrowing this character... or Alison will beat you up. (Insert random string of smileys here). Chapters may be just a hair bit slower this week, as I will have to edit them before posting, but they will be posted. Reviews will motivate me to update faster! Sorry about not posting this earlier today; I meant too- thought about it- and forgot to! So now I'm posting. My apologies! _

* * *

"We are going to have the kids talk to us first about the enemy we're facing, then we'll start making battle plans," Snake said as he gestured towards Alex. About twenty SAS members sat around Joe's large kitchen table. "After the kids are done, you can ask questions. This is Basset Hound," he said, gesturing towards Alex, "and this is Black Dog."

Alex shrugged at Niles' smirk. "I'll take Basset Hound any day over 'bullshit' or flamingo," he responded.

"Okay, _Basset Hound_," Snake said. "You two want to tell us how you got involved?"

"You start," Alex told Niles. "You're more comfortable with sharing your story than I am."

"I wouldn't compare 'comfortable' to 'having no rights,'" Niles said.

Snake shot Monotaro a pleading look that clearly said '_could you please just share your story so we can all go to bed before the raid_'.

Niles sighed, "Well, I don't really have much to say. I was taken - by Matt - when I was younger. I needed income, so I started selling drugs on the street. One of my regulars tipped Matt off about me. My mother was a drug addict and he removed me from her care so fast it almost made my head spin. I don't know why I was so surprised - I wasn't hard to locate. I already had the background knowledge in dealing drugs, so he made that was my main job. It was another year after that when I noticed that Matt liked to keep me hidden from the outside world. I hadn't thought much about it before. Finally, I realized that I was in foster care, and Matt was my care

taker. Once I discovered that I might have a chance getting away, I put all my energy in trying to find a way. After about three days of shot down ideas, I jumped out window, which resulted in a broken ankle and a tracking device-"

One of the other men, Mouse, interrupted. "Sorry, I know you said not to interrupt, but what kind of device? How advanced is it?" He glanced at Snake. He was wondering if there was any way they could find the tracking equipment and charge Matt with yet another crime. "Uh, did you attempt to run away before that? Or was he just that suspicious of people?"

Niles shrugged, "I really didn't pay much attention to it, but I do know that if Matt had the locator turned on, I couldn't get ten feet away from him without suffering. Not really...well there were these woods next to Matt's house, that's what I tried first. Almost got away too, but then got tackled by Mr. Heft."

"Who's Mr. Heft? Nevermind, wait - save that for next, continue on," Snake said. He remembered who Mr. Heft was, and while they would get him, their focus was on Matt first. "Focus on Matt. We'll get all the other assholes as we go."

"Not much to say about Matt, except he has a twisted way of thinking. He loves drugs, don't ask me what kind, because I don't know. All I remember about them was that they're addicting, and make you feel like shit afterwards."

"How many years were you there?" another member spoke up.

"I...I don't know. The last birthday I had was when I was ten, and I'm fourteen now, so...four years? I guess, I'm not good at math."

"Blame Matt, remember," Alex told Niles. "Four years. Before you all ask me, I was only there a couple of months."

"Do you think he treated the adults worse than the kids or the kids worse than the adults?" Another member spoke up. Snake shot him an appreciative look. They'd want to know that on their raid.

"Matt's a creep. I would say kids, he had a whole bunch of them when I first got there, but now the numbers are increasing," Niles told them.

"Easier to get kids from the foster care system," Alex explained.

Niles nodded.

"Any more questions for him before we let him rest in peace and go to Alex? And no, I don't mean 'graves,'" Snake said hastily as Niles opened his mouth.

"Black Dog, do you know of any relatives you're related to currently?" The sergeant asked.

Niles glanced down at his feet before looking up. "My mother and sister are both d-dead... M-Matt killed them."

Alex had never seen so many soldiers; eyes go wide at once.

"Any uncles, or cousins?"

"No..."

"Well kid, you have to be related to someone, because we ran your prints through the database and your picture came up. It looks fairly recent too."

"Well - I'm related to Ni-Eagle, right? He adopted me."

"No, well yes he did adopt you... What I mean is that you match someone from our database, at seventy five percent. You're probably cousins."

Alex glanced at Niles. "Who is this 'someone'?" he asked.

The sergeant sighed, knowing that there was no easier way to break it to Niles, and pulled the picture out.

Niles gingerly took the picture before he threw it back into the sergeant's face. "No! I am not related to him! He wouldn't do this to me! He couldn't! He'll kill me!"

Alex glanced at Snake, concerned.

"Son-" the sergeant began.

"I'm not your son, so stop calling me that! In fact I'm no one's son, except Eagles, and thats only on paper. I am not related to this psychopath!"

Mouse raised his eyebrow, impressed. He'd never seen anyone brave enough to throw a picture at the sergeant before. "Hey, Python, isn't that Fox?"

"Yes, it is Fox. He used to work in SAS-"

"That was before he went to the dark side and joined all the other crazies. He hurt Wolf, deliberately. He's Matt's right hand man! He probably messed with the samples or something, there is no way that's right!"

Mouse sighed. Fox had chosen to tell him about the undercover mission that he had undertaken because Bunny had almost been chosen to go in the slot that K-Unit would need. In the end, that hadn't happened. Now it looked like he had to reveal himself. "Snake, are we clear?"

"We ran the bug checker several times before the meeting."

"Look, kid-"

"I'm nobody's kid except Eagle's! You don't have that right, and never will." Niles huffed and stormed out of the room.

Mouse groaned. "I'll follow him, Snake," he volunteered. Snake nodded, letting him go. Mouse had trained to become a psychologist before ultimately following his dream to become a member of the SAS. Snake also knew that Mouse's team was aware of the mission, one of the reasons he'd been assigned to help out.

Mouse followed the kid outdoors. "Where are you going, Black Dog?" he asked.

"Away from all these lies!" Niles said as he kept walking. "Maybe I can get a ride cross country," he mumbled looking for a car, but finding none.

"And leave Basset Hound behind?" Mouse asked gently, an emotion foreign to most SAS men.

Niles froze. "I-I, no. But if I don't go, and that monster finds me, he would hurt Basset Hound knowing we're so close."

"Kid, you're in a room full of trained SAS soldiers. We will keep you and him safe, I promise. Besides, don't you want to know the secret that I know about Ben?"

"The monster has lots of secrets, get more specific."

"It's a good secret," Mouse said even as he sat down in the dirt. One of the things he'd learned working with traumatized teens was that when he sat down he made himself look less threatening. He could still pounce up within a millisecond, should the need arise. Sometimes, at 6'2 and 190 pounds, he needed to do things to look less threatening.

"Tell me, then I'll decide if it's good or not..."

"He works for MI6."

"That traitor!"

"No, Black Dog, wait!" Mouse cried out even as he ran after the kid. "What's your problem with MI6?"

"MI6 takes over people's lives. I found out that they knew Matt was out there, and did nothing to stop him, that was a few years ago, right after I was captured by him."

"How did they take over someone's life?" Mouse asked gently. "Kid, - no, Black Dog, I'm sorry you had a bad experience with them, but did you _know_ that or did Matt _tell _you that?"

Niles mumbled under his breath, "I was eavesdropping, that's not the same."

"So you heard it from Matt, right? I've not personally met the bastard myself - thank goodness - but I'm gathering from what you said he's not the world's nicest guy, right? So there's a chance he could be lying, right?"

"You like the word right a lot...right?"

"It works," Mouse said, blinking twice. "Look, I know it doesn't look like it, but I promise you, Ben's a good guy-"

"A good guy!? What rock have you lived under? Ben has done everything bad imaginable! He stabbed me, in the stomach, multiple times-"

"When did he do that?" Mouse asked, his mouth dropping open.

"It was with a fork, of all things. Happened a few months ago, before I met Eagle, and everyone else."

"He probably had to do it to keep cover. His job is to keep on Matt's tail until we bring him down, and to do that, he has to do things very, very meanly, okay? Just give him a chance when we catch Matt, okay? We'll get the whole story straightened out then."

"Understand me when I say he is a psychopath! He beat Wolf, practically raped me, stabbed Basset Hound, in the hand with a huge knife. Now if you think that's nice, I don't want to know what love is."

"Whoa, hold on kiddo. What do you mean he 'practically raped you?'" Mouse narrowed his eyes. Rape was never sanctioned on a mission no matter how desperate the situation.

Niles pulled on his hair, "Will you stop calling me that!"

"I'm sorry-"

"Not that sorry if you keep doing it," he muttered. "I don't want to listen to you anymore."

Mouse groaned, shit. He gently put his hand on the kid's shoulder. "Can we agree to disagree on the whole Ben thing, and I'll show you the information inside later?"

"Don't touch me," Niles said before spinning around and kicking Mouse in the stomach.

"Black Dog, this isn't what I meant by going inside and explaining!" Mouse said as he yanked himself up from the grass only to see Basset Hound emerge from the house.

"Hey! Black Dog! Don't hit him, he's the good guy!" Alex called. He'd been listening from a few yards away. The sergeant had moved them to discussing tactical drills and he felt like this was much more interesting. "Come on, I know you don't trust him, but can you please trust me? Ben is good. He is not going to kill you."

Niles sighed, and started walking towards the house again, "If I had money I would bet you."

Alex just shook his head. "He's been through hell and back," he told Mouse.

Mouse raised his eye. "And you haven't?"

"Less time," Alex said even as the trio walked inside.

Alex groaned as Snake looked at him. He hated talking. He didn't understand how Niles could be so comfortable with sharing his story. He felt like terror gnawed in his gut every time someone asked him to share. He sighed, and then remembered something that Joe had told him once. _Every time you share your story, Matt gets less power. _

Alex glanced up at Niles with a raise of his eye. If Nlies could do it... so could he. Then he swallowed, his throat suddenly running dry despite the water he'd had to drink earlier. He squirmed in his seat before beginning. "My story is the same, but different from his. Uh... if you're captured by Matt, you'll realize he's full of shit-"

Snake coughed loudly and glared at Alex.

"What? He is!" Alex said. "Anyway, he's a psychopath. I've been in the foster care system since I was ten. My father used to be a government official, so one time I went to Brecon Beacons because the foster system didn't have anywhere to place me." He bit his finger. "...I also had some background in drugs, so that's where I went too. The rest is pretty much downhill from there, except I was able to find one of my brothers-Matt actually tried to make him my fake father- during the case. Matt wasn't counting on us being really related, but when he found out we knew each other, he used that against us. If not for Joe being a legit cop I don't know where we'd be."

"And Joe's 'being a legit cop' earned him a trip to Afghanistan," the sergeant spoke up. "Matt is

bloody violent. Anything else you want to tell us, Hound?"

Alex glared at the sergeant. "You can't give a nickname _on_a nickname."

"I'm changing your name then," the sergeant responded smoothly. "Okay, kid. Anything else?"

Niles scoffed, "Matt invented the word bloody."

"I believe it," Snake said even as he stood up. He knew that the kids hadn't shared quite everything but felt like that was enough. "Okay, kiddos. Time to go to bed."

"Why can't the bed come to us?" Niles asked.

"Because life doesn't work that way, unfortunately," Snake said.

"But, it's only nine, we haven't done anything to look for Matt yet," he complained.

"That's for the grown-ups. Let us get injured, you've already been injured enough," Snake said even as Niles grinned at him and walked up the stairs.

* * *

"Are you okay?" Wolf asked one of the girls as they walked inside. They were done early for the day, or at least a few of them were. He could already see Hawk, Butterfly, Salad and Flamingo.

He didn't know a ton about the other adult slaves. Hawk was a 22 year old white male who had been kidnapped because his father owed the gang money. He'd never been returned, even though the family had paid him ransom. Butterfly was a 20-year-old woman who was the victim of a random snatch and grab. The most he'd gotten from Salad was that he was 23, but that was all - Salad didn't speak. Flamingo said he was mute, but Flamingo also said the sky was purple, so Wolf wasn't really sure how much he could trust him.

"Depends. I feel the distinct urge to beat the living shit out of someone, though, and I don't see any of the slave owners around. That's causing particular upset in my brain," the girl replied.

Wolf raised an eyebrow. "Who do you feel like beating up?" he asked, wondering if he should bring up escape now or later.

"_Everyone._" She looked at his expression. "...But I'll settle for the drug runner morons."

Flamingo snorted. "You won't be able to beat them up. You're what, eleven? You couldn't even take _me_."

Wolf stepped back. "I think you just gave her permission to take you out."

"Please, she's a _girl_! And she's not even twelve yet!" Flamingo rolled his eyes as he stalked towards his bed.

Casually, she stuck her leg out, grabbed his arm when he tripped, and flipped him over her shoulder, slamming him into the ground on his back. The move clearly knocked the wind from his lungs, and he lay there for a moment looking up at her satisfied face. "I think, from that crack, I may have just broken something. Well, really, you did."

"You're not even twelve!" Flamingo protested yet again, angry as he clutched his arm. "I don't even understood why they put you with us!"

"You might want to stop while you're ahead," Wolf remarked, raising an eyebrow. "Where'd you learn those moves?" he asked, turning towards the girl. "And what's your name?"

She kicked Flamingo once in the ribs, not as hard as the bad guys did, but still a decent kick. "Somebody taught me. And when you want my name, which one do you want?"

"Your slave name, _duh_," Flamingo spoke up. "Nobody has a name that's not a slave name who is here. I thought that Matt made that quite clear."

"I actually have a name that's not a slave name," Wolf responded. "I'm going to conveniently go to the restroom now. I trust you'll be in better shape to be more charitable when I come back." With that, he slid over to the 'restroom' - the one porta john that all the slaves used. It was awful, but it beat the bushes.

Barely.

The kid, left to her own devices with Flamingo still on the floor, smirked. "How old are you?" Flamingo said, ignoring the pain he felt in his hip as he stood up. "And seriously, what's your name? You already know mine's Flamingo, we've been living here for three weeks and you haven't told me what your name is yet, _girl_."

"Alison Braxley, you pain in the ass."

Wolf came back just in time to hear her name. "Sorry about that." He glanced at the two. "I don't want to get you or me in trouble right now, so, uh, what's your slave name?" He hated the whole slave name thing, but with how pissed off Matt got, he didn't want him or her getting beaten up.

_Where did he know the name Braxley? _"I haven't met you before, have I?" he asked her as he raised his eyebrow, trying to recall the name.

"Don't think so. Why?"

"Your name sounds familiar... is your father important?" he asked. He rolled his eyes. That was a stupid question, the girl's father would probably be important to her. "I mean, is he like... high up? Commonly known?"

"Hell no. He works in Delta Force. Going to be pissed as all hell that I got kidnapped, that's for sure..."

Wolf raised his eyebrows but remained quiet, choosing to keep to himself that he knew that Delta Force was some of America's strongest security. He was right, her father was going to be pissed. Suddenly, a memory occurred to him. "Hey, wait. Did your father get kidnapped by some guy named Peters like two or three years ago?"

She frowned at him, evaluating the man in front of her. And suddenly, Wolf knew that she knew he was not just a slave. "No. But he was involved in something to do with that man because of me. Who were you before this all went down?".

Wolf bit his lip, debating on how much he should tell her. He sighed as he sat down on the bed. Flamingo walked off to the bathroom, clearly angry that the "little girl" had managed to hurt him. Wolf smirked as he saw the accompanying limp. "What do you mean, who was I? I'm still the same person. Well, technically," he muttered under his breath.

He paused, considering the situation, and then reached over, extending his hand like he wanted to shake hers. She looked at him, a bit confused, but took his hand. As soon as she did, she nodded in understanding, mouth opening slightly in surprise, glancing down at the hand.

When you go through training like the SAS, where shooting ability is critical, calluses quickly appear in certain places where otherwise there would be none. It makes it a lot easier to identify yourself to a friend.

"What?" Wolf asked, looking at her as he noticed a slight change in her posture, hoping she'd gotten the message.

The door quickly opened, and Matt barged in. "Where the hell is Flamingo?" he demanded, failing to notice Wolf dropping the girl's hand quickly. He turned towards the girl. "You! Where is he?"

"Hey, leave her alone!" Wolf said as he stepped in. "For your information, Flamingo is -"

"Right here," he responded. "You should get rid of the girl, she's nothing but trouble." He glared at Alison to make his point.

"You don't have an opinion, you're a slave. Clearly, she's not in trouble, or I'd be bringing _her_, not you," Matt responded even as he grabbed Flamingo's arm. "Stay out of trouble, Refrigerator," he commanded the girl even as he slammed the door shut.

Wolf raised his eyebrows. "Refrigerator?" he asked. "He does come up with non-animal names occasionally."

"I met someone named Monotaro," she mentioned, frowning at the door. "Kid was royally screwed up by this system, I'm telling you, but he was a good kid. Don't know where he is now."

Wolf shrugged. "I think I do... Well, someone adopted him, so when that someone is rescued, that's where he'll go back. Seriously though? _Refrigerator_? What, does he run diamonds here too and need somewhere cold to put them?"

She nodded. "Yeah, they do a lot here. I'm sure you can name any kind of illegal doing, and they've done it. I work in cutting diamonds, but really, everyone who does that doesn't have a clue what they're doing." She rubbed her chin sarcastically. "That could be why that part of this organization never brings in much income. Not like we'd ever mess up a diamond on purpose or anything..." She looked around the room. "Suppose there's any monitors in here?"

"You mean bugs? No, I searched for those when I came in, why?" Wolf asked as he raised his eyebrow.

Alison leaned forward, looking at him harshly. "What's SAS doing here? How many of you are there?"

* * *

Challenges:

Who is Alison? What do you think of her? How was she kidnapped?

What do you think of Niles being related to Ben? Do you think Niles will understand that Ben is a good guy?

See you in chapter 35! By the way, once I (Writer With Sprite) gets the updates edited, they'll be coming much faster (twice a week) again. Reviews will help motivate me to do this... hint, hint.


	35. Drama, Drama, Drama

A/N: I decided to go ahead and update this chapter early because it's got virtually no Alex in it; it focuses on Wolf at the minute. I got a very inspiring review from "mom23kazkids" that has encouraged me to post early. Mom23kazkids, thanks so much for letting me read that! It was so great. Anyway, I hope you enjoy. This was a needed filler chapter.

* * *

"I've been in this building for about a week, and they got me a week before that. I would've gotten out earlier, but I hadn't realized you were conducting an investigation and had most of the information already. I was staying around to try to get more on them so they could get arrested for more."

"Are you up for adoption?" Joe asked with raised eyebrows. He was impressed with the information she'd manage to get. Hopefully, it could help him and Wolf bust out of there. "Okay, how many adults that aren't slaves are here at any one given time?"

"You mean how many bad guys, Joe. Just feed it to her whole, or she'll smack you again. How many of Matt's men are here? Do you have any idea? I've seen, uh, Matt, Steven, Ben, at least three, but I'm sure there's more."

"'Bout a hundred bad guys, and most of them have a slave. Not all of them are under the same person, and Matt doesn't run everyone. But he is in charge of a lot of people." She smirked at Joe. "And sorry, but I've been claimed for in the ways of adoption." Her smirk dropped. "But what's SAS doing here? It's not just because we're in Afghanistan."

Wolf glanced at Joe, debating on how much to tell her. "I was dating Ben, and he kidnapped me and brought me here."

"... Alright, _that's _bull. Want to try that again?" she asked. She just couldn't picture that working for him nor could she picture an SAS man putting up with that shit unless something else was at play.

"Well, to be fair, that's what Ben believes," Joe smirked at her, baiting Wolf. "He was dating Ben though-"

Wolf cuffed him on the back of the head. "It's _my story_. I was dating Ben, apparently, thanks to Joe here. We - SAS - K-Unit - were called to be back-up for someone undercover. I was going to be a slave owner, but I was kidnapped by Matt's cronies. I must've pissed Matt off, because he sold me off to Ben. My brother - who Matt believes is my son, let's keep it that way - called the police on Ben when he was beating me on the floor and didn't want to stop. That's where this guy got involved and decided I was dating Ben."

Joe shrugged. "_Ben _went along with it," he pointed out.

"Who the crap is Ben?!" Alison demanded.

The door opened at that statement. "Get over here, Wolf!" the man practically shouted.

"That would be him," Wolf muttered. "I'm on my way, don't be pissy."

Joe stepped up. "We were talking, if you don't mind."

"Actually, I _do _mind. What are you doing here, Fridge?" Ben demanded. "I thought they were putting you with the kids because you look like you're twelve."

She nodded suddenly, understanding, and ignored his statement. "I thought it was strange that a current Brit Special Forces guy was here, but now this makes loads more sense!"

Ben rolled his eyes. "Fuck you. Wolf, you're leaving with me tomorrow. And please, Wolf SAS? You've got to be kidding me. You're such an idiot."

"You came here tonight to tell me that we were leaving tomorrow? I think you're the idiot," Wolf retorted.

"Shut up or I'll punish the girl," Ben responded as he moved towards the door. "Don't even think it, Fridge. I'm on Matt's side. Not yours." He grabbed her by her shoulder. "Are we clear?"

"That's not what Edgeworth said," she said, smirking again.

"Good God, first Monotaro and now you! I am telling Matt to stick with animal names! And for your information, Edgeworth is not nice in the early mornings when you're late out of bed. Got that, Wolf?" With that, he stormed out the door, slamming it shut and locking it.

"And now you can tell why we broke up," Wolf retorted as he raised his eyebrows. "So, yeah. Anyway, what were you asking?" he said as he sat down again.

She jerked a thumb in the direction of where Ben had just left. "He from your unit?"

"She catches on quicker than you, Joe," Wolf said with a smirk on his face. "I'm the leader... does 'Wolf' sound familiar to you?" He thought he had finally recognized where he knew her from. "Didn't a UK unit rescue you awhile back?"

She gestured with her arm, dropping it down to show how tall she'd been. "Midget -still am, but you know -, sick, bleeding all over the place? I remember the two hooligans in my dad's unit slamming the door in your face when you were trying to rescue us."

"That sounds familiar. Damn, coincidence, no?" Wolf responded. "Joe, I think that they're going to be moving those boxes for the meeting tomorrow. I'm probably going because I'm probably going to be on the truck unloading the boxes."

"Question: Why do they have multiple slaves load the trucks, but only one unload them?" Joe asked with a shake of his head.

The door opened yet again and Wolf growled. "What the hell do you want, Ben?" he said.

"I just thought this might be useful," Ben responded as he handed over the backpack. "See you in the morning."

Matt poked his head in. "You're assuming he's still alive in the morning. By the way, you three aren't going to get dinner tonight. Just so you know." He looked at Alison and grabbed her chin. "And you," he growled, "had better not fuck up any more diamonds, are we clear?"

She gave a wordless snarl. "Yeah? Let's see you back that up."

Matt shoved her roughly onto the floor. "I mean it. I've already lost money on you today. Maybe I should have you load trucks, and I would except you're too much of a wimp for that."

"You wouldn't be making us do it if you had enough brawn to do it yourself!"

With that, he grabbed out his knife, pausing only shortly. "Wolf, you'd better be a good boy tomorrow. Are we clear?"

Wolf snorted. "Oh, please."

Matt looked past them to the girl. "You'll be _good tomorrow_, right?" he demanded, flicking his knife casually. Her snarl returned. "I'll be gone tomorrow, right? You'll be good?"

"Well, you can fuck off."

Matt opted for grabbing her by the arm, pulling her roughly again as he held his knife under her chin. "I'll ask it one more time, sweetie, are we going to be good?"

"You need a dictionary if you want to say that. My good certainly isn't the same as yours."

Matt sighed. "I don't think she's being good, Ben."

"Sorry, I don't see what I can do about it. The only one I'm responsible for here is Wolf."

Steven walked into the room. "Good God, what's taking you two so long? Are you seriously being shown up by a _girl_, Matt?" he asked, grabbing her by the arm. He yanked her out of his brother's hands hard. The knife, which had been too close to her to begin with, cut her arm, barely missing her neck. Matt glared at Steven as she was flung to the floor.

"I was trying to teach her a lesson!"

"I just taught her a lesson!" Steven responded. He pointed the knife at Joe. "You - go sit down," he said. He looked at Wolf. "You... I'll have to talk to you later."

Ben coughed. "He's my slave, don't you think you need to ask me for permission for that? You have Seal to torture, leave the girl alone."

"Yeah, leave the girl alone," Matt mocked. "Hear that, Fridge? He's saying leave you alone. As if," he snorted. "Get up!" he said, going over and grabbing her by the arm.

As he moved down, outstretching his arm, she grabbed a hold of it with both of hers. She planted her foot in stomach, and with all the ease in the world, kicked him over her, throwing him canonto the ground.

Matt glared at her and then at Steven. Suddenly, in seconds, both pounced on her. Steven held her down by her legs, Matt by her arms. "You shouldn't have done that! Actually, you couldn't have done that. Magical forces must have gotten involved," Matt muttered, clearly sore about being outwitted by a teenager.

"Don't even start!" Ben commanded Wolf as he saw the soldier start to go over to the pile. He quickly grabbed Wolf's hand.

"You gonna be good so we can let you up?" Matt demanded.

She lashed out with an elbow, knocking him straight in the crotch. Matt smirked as Steven fell off her legs before he moved, pinning her down. "Ben, go get some drugs, we're gonna need them!" he ordered.

"I'm making sure Wolf doesn't kill you, have Steven get them," Ben said. "What, can't the two of you handle a girl?"

She snorted from the floor. "Apparently not! How the hell have you been controlling people before now?"

Steven sighed as he walked to the locked box, using a key to open it. He pulled out a bottle of pills before closing it and locking it. "Here you go," he said to Matt. "How many, five or six?"

"The usual dose is two."

"She's not normal, you moron," Steven muttered with a shake of his head. "If I knew any better, I'd say she learned from Seal."

"What about Seal?" Wolf asked, lunging for Steven. Ben didn't bother to restrain him, knowing it would be pointless.

Steven side stepped and allowed Wolf to nearly crash on the floor. "Who invited the slaves to get minds?! Here, take these," he said to Fridge as Matt barely kept her pinned on the floor. "Open up your mouth girl." He moved his hand closer to her mouth. "I said, _open up, girl_!"

She bit him. Matt screamed before slapping her in the head, yelling, "You _bastard_! She bit me!"

"Are you surprised?" Ben asked. "You put your hand next to her mouth, what were you thinking?!"

"Get over here and help us pin her down," Matt demanded.

Ben shook his head. "No thanks. She flipped you, I need to be in good shape in case one of us has to shoot her."

"Glad to see one of you's intelligent," she muttered.

"Take the damn pills," Matt said, furious as he handed her the drugs. His arm was extended, the drugs in hand. "Or I'll slit your throat."

"That's counterproductive. Can you spell that?" She headbutted him. The drugs went flying all over the floor.

Matt kicked her, hard. Finally, Wolf spoke up. "Just stop it. Leave her alone."

"Take the damn drugs!" Steven said, ignoring Wolf as he grabbed her hair. "Take the drugs or we'll punish Wolf."

Wolf snorted. "I've had it all, give 'em hell, Fridge."

"And before he threatens to punish me, ignore him," Joe chimed in. Suddenly, before anyone realized what was happening, Joe launched onto Matt, pulling him down onto the ground, away from Alison. Ben was only standing and wasn't reacting. Wolf launched himself towards Steven.

Ben chose that minute to conveniently disappear.

"Let go of her," Joe said, panting as he struggled to hold Matt down. "You're under arrest."

Matt flipped Joe, sending him reeling into the wall. Steven had managed to pin her down, holding her two arms behind her back. "Get the sedation," he ordered.

"Got it," Matt responded. "You! Get the fuck down," he ordered, pressing the button that triggered Wolf's anklet. Wolf collapsed to the floor.

Alison bucked her back, causing Steven to fall forward in surprise. She got her knees up under her and launched herself backwards, falling onto Steven and knocking his breath out. He released her arms, and she rolled off him, coming up smoothly to her feet. She surveyed the situation, planting a foot on Steven's neck when he tried to get up.

Matt launched himself into her, pinning her arms down. She toppled to the cement floor. He took out the syringe and jabbed it harshly against her arm. "Maybe that'll teach you to listen," he muttered as he let the whole thing loose. "Steven, get me another syringe for Wolf, too?"

Alison kicked out, knocking Matt away from her.

Steven quickly grabbed another syringe, but instead of heading towards Wolf, jabbed her instead. Instead of helping Matt, he grabbed two more syringes, and moved towards Wolf. Joe was already up at this point, tired of the abuse. Steven lunged towards Joe and pushed him down, grabbing the syringe and injecting his arm. He then went to move towards Wolf's arm.

He crashed down to the floor onto his back, a direct result of Alison whipping her leg under his and knocking both of his up into the air. He hit heavily, and she got up to her feet. Matt muttered under his breath before stomping outside.

Steven picked up the syringe and moved once more towards Wolf. Wolf pushed himself up, but Steven forced him back down. "No food for a week," he said, even though he didn't intend to follow through with that. He stuck the needle in Wolf's arm, not noticing where the girl was.

She brained him, snatching out the needle at the same time. Steven spun around and kicked her, sending the needle flying out into the yard. "Go to hell," he panted before he stormed out the front door, slamming it. Wolf could hear it lock shut.

"I've already been there," Alison muttered angrily.

Joe was finally up again. "Are you okay?" he asked her, concerned. "How much did they inject you with?"

She gave him a level look. "Do I look like I would know? Two needles."

"Fuck," Wolf muttered as he pulled himself up. "Oh, f-" with that, he flew back down to the floor. "I don't feel good."

"Are you okay?" Joe asked. "Never mind, that's a stupid question. How much did they give him?" he asked Alison as he felt Wolf's forehead.

"Not a full injection," she answered, leaning heavily against the wall. "I'm... My body's different. And it looks like he's been starved, so he doesn't have the strength to hold up against it."

Joe shook his head. "Wolf?" he asked. "Damn, I wish I had a thermometer."

Wolf snorted. "Oh, yeah, because that'll fix the problem. I'm fine. Fridge, tell him I'm fine. I've had worse."

"He says he's fine and that he's had worse." She looked at him, ignoring her past sarcasm. "You need to lie low. You're going to get yourself killed."

"I'm fine," Wolf muttered, shaking his head as he pulled himself up.

Ben ducked in the room, holding two bowls of rice. "Here, these are for you guys - not Wolf though, Matt says he can't eat today." With that, Ben set the bowls on the floor and left the room just as quickly as he'd come.

"Enjoy," Wolf muttered as he pulled himself up. "I have to piss, I'll be right back."

She grabbed his arm as he went past. "I'm not hungry."

"Yes, you are."

"Not as hungry as you are."

"Your father would kill me if I took any of your food," Wolf responded. "Don't think I don't know what you're doing. I'm _fine_."

"What dictionary are you using? And he wouldn't kill you, because he knows trying to stop me from something I want to do is not going to work. Now just eat the damn rice!"

"We're splitting it," Wolf told her firmly as he sat back down. "Got that? You're eating too or I'm not eating. We clear?"

"Fine," Joe said speaking up. "You can have half of mine. No, Wolf, don't give that look. You _need_to eat. When was the last time you ate anything anyway?"

"It's not my fault Ben's trying to lower how much money he spends on food!"

"Here," Alison compromised. "There's two bowls. We split it into three bits, and somewhere during the process, Wolf ends up with a full bowl and the rest of us get a half. "

"You should eat the whole bowl," Wolf argued. He shook his head. "Sorry. I'm just not used to being cuddled."

"You're starving. How's that being cuddled? Missing _one meal_ is not going to kill either Joe or I, so eat the food! Do you think we're weaker than you or something? Don't cuddle _us_!"

Wolf glared at her, trying to think of something to say. "Fine. But we talk about escape while we eat. You two will need a plan while I'm gone tomorrow."

She grunted in response. "Fine. How many people are we taking with us?"

"You and I," Jeo responded. "You're the only one I trust right now on this compound. Does anyone else think Flamingo sounds a little more fishy than straight?"

"I can look for the Delta headquarters when we get out. I've heard enough to be able to get us somewhere in the area, and once we get there, there's bound to be someone I know."

Wolf nodded. "Good. And I'll try to resist killing Matt so that he can be locked up in jail for the rest of his sorry, miserable life. Let's just say they don't do kind things to perverts in prison."

"What, is killing people still illegal? I say go for it," she responded.

"But if I kill him, then I miss seeing him get tortured in prison," Wolf responded as he ate the food. "Dang, I was wrong. This is good rice."

"And that's as close as you'll get to a 'thank you for not letting me starve to death,'" Joe interjected to Alison.

She smiled in amusement. "I figured."

* * *

Wolf finished the rice and put the bowl by the door. "I ate, are you happy now?" He asked Alison with a smirk as he stood up.

"Smug and satisfied," she responded.

Wolf rolled his eyes. "I have too... I'll be right back. Joe, what are you getting the first aid box out for?"

"Your gash, maybe?" Joe asked, pointing to the gash that ran down Wolf's arm. It was a gift from earlier that day for Wolf's "disobedience"-asking a question about his brother.

"My gash is fine!" Wolf protested as he walked out the door, headed for the bathroom, as if that would keep Joe from patching him up.

Joe looked at Alison. "You'd better convince him this time. The last time I tried, well, never mind, just convince him, okay? He listened to you on the rice, he'll listen to you with this."

She smiled deviously. "Yes, everyone learns to. Sometimes willingly... sometimes, it's the hard way. Now how are we getting out?"

Joe sighed. "You'd know better than me. I've only been here three days, two of which I've spent loading trucks. Wolf! Get over here! We only have a limited time until the others get back from dinner, and I don't want them to see us with this first-aid kit. Fridge, what's in the backpack?"

"It's from Ben, make sure it's not hard-wired with explosives," Wolf cracked. "My arm is fine Joe." He backed away. "Besides, don't you think Matt would be mad if I got first aid?"

"Wolf..." Joe started, then looked at Alison, his eyes silently saying, "Your turn!"

Alison looked at Wolf, and deadpanned, "If you don't let him take care of your arm, I will hit you, and then you'll need first aid because your head's going to be bleeding."

Wolf sighed as he sat down. "Your father will be so glad to have you back, I'm sure."

"Arm, please," Joe said as he looked at Wolf. "And by that, do you mean that you'll be glad when she's no longer giving you orders?"

"He's glad I'll back to making my father get the medical attention instead of him." She glanced at Wolf. "And besides, it's his fault for adopting, so he's stuck with me."

Wolf shrugged. Or tried to. Joe was still putting cream on his arm. "Good God, Wolf, how did you piss him off? This is a deep gash. Why on earth would you refuse medical treatment for it? Are you trying to get yourself killed?"

"...It's not my fault that Matt was in a bad mood this morning," Wolf retorted. "Okay, change of topic. Fridge, what's our best way out of here? From my understanding, Matt, Steven and Ben will all be leaving tomorrow for the raid. That leaves you with what, 97 bad guys instead of 100?"

"If we give them something else to focus their attention on..." Alison suggested.

"Like what, a fire?" Wolf retorted before he realized what he had said, then decided to go with it. "Where are you going to get the matches from?"

"What's in that backpack, Fridge?" Joe asked as he finished cleaning Wolf's arm, putting the gauze firmly on it. "You are going to the doctor as soon as we're out of here, Wolf."

"No, I'm not!"

"Damn it, do you want me to come over there?"

"You're not a doctor," Wolf responded, not understanding how she met that. "What's in the backpack?" he asked, deliberately trying to take her focus elsewhere.

She glared at him. "I'm more of a doctor than you are, apparently!" She turned to the backpack, starting to look around inside. She gave up, and dumped out the contents.

There were four protein bars, five bottles of water, two packs of matches, a key that looked suspiciously like a handcuff key, a packet of protein powder - "What does he expect us to mix this with?" Joe asked, - and some other miscellaneous food.

And a map.

"Well, shit," Wolf muttered. "Now we just need to know of where we are."

Joe unfolded the map, looking at it. "I don't think your foxy friend has gone darkside just yet."

"Oh?" Wolf remarked, leaning over and looking at the map.

"YOU ARE HERE" was marked in a big dot.

"Okay, maybe not," Wolf admitted. There were also dots for the AMERICAN EMBASSY as well as the UNITED KINGDOM EMBASSY. "I think he remembers you, Fridge. Why else would he mark the American Embassy?"

"I did mention Edgeworth, so even if he didn't remember me, he would've known I'm American." She looked at Joe, and said for his benefit, "Edgeworth is a drill sergeant at Fort Bragg, where Delta trains. I mentioned him to Ben because he's gone to Brecon Beacons a few times and met a lot of the soldiers there."

"That makes sense, I think." Joe scratched his head. "Okay, so it looks like we've got about a four mile walk to the embassy, according to the scale. You going to be okay with that?" he asked Alison. He glanced at Wolf. "And we're coming back for you," he added. "Do you know how long you will be gone with Matt?"

Wolf shrugged. "Nope, and unless Fridge can tell the future, I don't think anyone else does either."

"Watch me," she snapped back, and then turned to the map. "It's four miles there, but we're not going to exactly be inconspicuous running away from the scene of the fire. Plus, if they've got people in the area, we'll be caught pretty quickly. We'll have to walk slowly away from the fire, probably detouring, and then if we think we're being followed, hurry it up in the last stretch. It'll save energy, too."

Joe nodded. "What embassy is going to be our easiest route?"

Wolf spoke up. "Fridge, you have contacts in the American Embassy, right?"

She shrugged. "Kinda, sorta. I can drop names and pull rank to get them to listen. I mean, pull someone else's rank over them."

Wolf sighed as he opened the backpack and began packing it again. When he was done, Joe pulled out two bottles of water and two protein bars before handing the backpack back to Wolf. "You need to keep this," he said.

Shaking his head, Wolf responded, "Ben will probably kill me if he sees me with it."

Joe looked at Fridge, going, 'you bailed me out once, you're going to bail me out every time after'. She directed another glare towards Wolf. "You're going to try this again? Take the damn stuff. Besides, you look like shit."

"You'll need it more than I will," he pointed out. "And thanks for the compliment," he added. reaching over to take the two protein bars.

"We'll be at the embassy," she snorted. "There will be plenty of food there."

"You'll have a four mile walk to get there. You going to get there with two protein bars?" Wolf retorted, feeling tired of 'being taken care of'. "Your father would kill me if I let you get hurt," he repeated again.

"Why do you keep saying he's going to kill you? You moron, unless you were the one who hurt me, you're fine." Under her breath, she muttered, "It's my friend you need to worry about..."

* * *

Wolf sighed but took the backpack and set it under his bed. At that point, the door opened and the slaves walked in. Flamingo bounded over to the circle. "Look! It's the little girl! She got in trouble, she didn't get dinner!"

Joe just shook his head and looked over at Hawk. "Is it just me, or is he asking to get beat up again?"

Hawk looked at the girl, sizing her up. "Please, like Fridge can take him. He's twice as big as her, and better looking, too."

"You may want to stop while you're ahead," Joe warned Hawk. "Go for it, Fridge. I see nothing."

"Go for what? She can't do anything-she's a girl!" Flamingo protested.

Wolf rolled his eyes. "And to think I share a bunk with you. I'm going to ask Matt to reassign me somewhere else."

"But she's a girl!" Flamingo whined. "Butterfly," he said, looking at the 17-year-old woman who was trying to hide her laughter, "tell them-she's just a girl."

"I acknowledge that she is female, however, as I am acknowledging she is female, I'm willing to bet that she'll kick your ass," Butterfly responded. "Just because she's a girl doesn't mean she isn't better trained than you. My mother worked in the army, I've seen her flip girls twice my size."

"Flip women. She can't flip a man!" Flamingo said as he lashed out with a right hook and caught Alison in the jaw. Before he could pull the arm away, she grabbed it, yanking it forward and past her face. He fell forward, in time for her to slam her knee straight into his gut. Then she whacked her forearm across his face.

"Let me go, you're hurting me!" Flamingo said as he kicked at her. "She's hurting me, somebody do something!"

"Okay," Butterfly said, "I'll do something. I'll take bets for whoever wants to bet that she'll totally break his jaw... or that she'll leave some part of his body alive."

"Get off of me!" Flamingo said as he kicked her again, or tried to. "You - you - you - you're a girl!"

"Glad you noticed," Wolf muttered with a roll of his eyes. He would have stepped in but figured Fridge could clear the floor with Flamingo faster without his help.

She kneed him again in the gut, harder, and when he doubled over, she slammed her elbow into his back. He dropped to the ground when she moved out of the way, and she planted a foot in his back to stop him from getting up. "Yes, I'm of the female gender. What's it to you? Your nuts are going to be hurting from now until tomorrow, I promise that."

Suddenly, the door flew open and Matt walked in, doing a head count. He stopped when he saw Alison pinning Flamingo to the floor. "What the hell happened?" he demanded as his brother followed from behind, complete with Ben and two other men in tow.

"Flamingo punched her first," Butterfly responded, "so she was defending herself."

"You can't defend yourself here. Get off of him!" Matt responded. "Okay, these are my helpers - Steven, Ben, Richard and Thomas. You're going to all get anklets tonight. Who doesn't have one?"

Wolf rolled his eyes and laid on his pillow, smirking quietly to himself. They'd never be able to put a tracking device on Alison without her consent. Even if there were five men there. Truthfully, they wouldn't have put one on him either, except he was on the damn mission.

"I think everyone except Flamingo has one," Butterfly lied again, motioning for Fridge to quickly pull down her pant legs so Matt couldn't see through the bold-faced lie.

"Get up, Flamingo," Matt said. He stalked over to Alison. "Get off of him before I slit your throat. Get off his ass now!"

"She's not on his ass," Butterfly responded as she moved in front of Matt. Alison glanced between the two, and stepped off Flamingo, moving to Butterfly's side to help her. "You should talk to him about improving his manners-he's not doing a good job of it."

Matt rolled his eyes before stomping over to Alison. "There was a raid on Delta Force," He began. "Your father got involved. He's dead now. Let's go, Flamingo." With Flamingo firmly being dragged by Matt, he was out the door. Steven and the other two men followed Matt, leaving Ben behind. Fridge paled slightly, considering the words and clenching her fists to her side.

"Matt and his lies," Ben muttered with a shake of his head. "He tells a lot of lies. I'm not saying that was a lie, but he tells a lot of lies. By the way, everyone gets a day off tomorrow. We'll be half-staffed because of the meeting with the big boss. I want you all under your best behavior, are we clear?" He looked specifically at Alison and Wolf.

Wolf rolled his eyes. "I'm going with you, remember?" He glanced at Refrigerator, making sure she was okay.

One of the men came back. "Delta Force was confirmed dead after the bombing."

"No, they weren't. Stop lying."

"But they were. That's what Matt said."

"And you suppose he tells the truth a hundred percent of the time?"

"Yes."

Ben just shook his head before leaving the room, arguing with the other man about 'telling truth' and the consequences of it, but not before tossing a paper at Refrigerator.

'DELTA FORCE INJURED IN CAR BOMBING, NO DEATHS'

"They don't die easily," Alison murmured, smug and relieved.

"Who's that on the front?" Butterfly asked as she looked at the picture. "Is that a Delta Force guy?"

The picture was of people trailing out of a shot up building with craters missing out of the walls. A group near the front could be clearly seen, trying to get the press to back up so people could do their work. One person was close enough to the camera to be clearly defined. "Yeah. I recognize most of the guys there. That one's my dad."

"Damn," Wolf said. "Can I see the paper, Fridge?"

She looked reluctant to hand it to him but did so anyway.

"Damn," he said with a shake of his head before handing it back.

"They bombed the crap out of that place," she said before setting it down gently on the bed. "But they'll be up and fighting tomorrow. 'Cause that's what soldiers here have to do."

"Yeah," Wolf nodded from the other bed. "That's what soldiers have to do."

"Copycat," she muttered under her breath, but she looked like she agreed wholeheartedly.

* * *

And we're back to the action next chapter!

Challenges:

Will Delta come and get in on the action? How did Wolf know Alison from before?

How will the escape go down? How will that interfere with the SAS's plans to raid?

Enjoy! Also, which day will you be happiest if we update on: Friday, Saturday or Sunday?

~~ Thank you ~~


	36. Almost a rescue

_A/N: Don't worry if Alison seems like the perfect OC right now, she will soon reveal her faults. If she seems very physically strong, it's because she's been in a lot of previously abusive households and has learned to fight back.  
_

* * *

_CHAPTER 35 _

"FIRE!" Butterfly yelled as she lit the match. "FIRE!" With that, she dropped it on the bed that Wolf had been sleeping on only hours before. She had stolen the matches and volunteered to be the one who set things on fire. "Everyone get out, fire!"

"FIRE!" Hawk screamed, launching himself up. Knowing that Salad couldn't speak, he grabbed Salad and moved him out of the building. "FIRE!"

This was going to be chaos.

* * *

"We need to run," Joe said as he gave Alison the purse like object that had been in the backpack.

The two took off over the rough terrain, ignoring the shouts of chaos. "Hopefully nobody dies!" he told her.

"Hopefully some of the slave owners do!" she shot back. "Come on, it's this way." She went down a road, slowing their pace so they wouldn't be suspicious. After a few minutes of walking, she handed the bag back to Joe, gesturing for him to put it in the backpack. "Joe, do you know how to get to the embassy from here? It's only two more miles." At his expression, she continued, "We're being followed. Get to the embassy, and I'll meet you there. Go, I'm faster and I can catch up. Drop the names Colonel Jennings, Braxley, and Girst, and don't give up until they talk to you."

Joe nodded. "And if you get captured?"

"I'll survive, because I can. But you know more about what's going on than I do, so you have to get there no matter what."

"Okay," he told her, unconvinced. That was all the convincing that she needed before taking off back the way they came, waving her arms at the truck and taking off down another road, enticing the vehicle to chase her.

He made it to the embassy, tracking through three miles of dirt. He was glad he was in good shape, because he wasn't sure he would have made the progress he had. It still took nearly an hour to get there.

When he got there, he opened the door, not caring what she said. "I need to talk to Braxley right now," he demanded. "It's about his daughter, Alison."

Even before he finished the sentence, he was dragged out of the main area, and pulled into a separate hallway by four guys. One opened a door, and all five stepped inside, pulling Joe along with them. As soon as they were inside, and the door was closed, they let him go. One of the men crossed his arms. "It's always about her, apparently. What did she get into this time?"

"You mean you didn't know she's been missing for two weeks?!" Joe blurted out. "Who's her father? She told me to talk to him."

"I am," he replied, "but we've been a bit busy getting shot at by terrorists. It's been that kind of week. I knew she was missing, but I also knew that she was going to be beating up the people who had her, if she just wasn't wandering around somewhere? She does that more often than you would think."

Joe just shook his head in disbelief. "She was kidnapped by terrorists, probably the same group who's been targeting you. She was told you were dead last night-"

Braxley's expression darkened considerably. "Aarons, go see who wants to go beat some people up." One of the four men left the room, going to do what he asked.

"I didn't do anything with that! Look, do you know a guy named Matt, and his organization, which is called Free Fly?"

"I've been dealing with terrorists nonstop here and raids. Do you think Delta cares much about anything else when our operatives are getting killed over here?"

"Do you want to know _why_they're getting killed?" Joe demanded, standing up. "Look, here's what I know. I got involved with the Free Fly ring when I rescued one of its slaves, Wolf, after what I thought was a bad domestic violence call-"

"You better shorten up this tale," one of the guys next to Braxley said, leaning against the wall, "before Aarons and a few other units get back. See, she interrupted our RTI once on complete accident, but made an absolute mockery of the guys doing it. We owe her a little debt for that, and one we'll be all too happy to repay. Cut out the details and get to the point."

"Okay, fine! Look, she escaped from the ring that held her hostage, okay? But we were escaping, and they caught her again! She told me to get to you, although I don't know why, if you keep interrupting everything I say and won't believe me-"

The door opened, and the units came in. Braxley rolled his eyes at Joe, and a few of the guys snickered, seeing where this was going. "You moron, I told for Aarons to go see who wants to beat up some _people._That's plural. So basically, there's a slave operation going on nearby, and they're doing drugs as well. This sounds exactly like something Delta is not involved in... which is why we might suspiciously have to all run out to get supplies for the building at the exact same time."

Joe stood up. "Let me make this clear and succinct, sir, just so I make sure you're getting the message. Your daughter has been captured by terrorists. She's been held there for two weeks. There are about a hundred slave owners there. They've been trying to make her a slave too, key phrase _trying_. Today we managed to escape, only she got recaptured about an hour ago. There are probably three hundred slaves on the premises."

Braxley, completely unimpressed, looked at him. "Yeah. I got that. I think you're missing the point that all of us are here to get them out of there. How well do you know the area?"

"I could get you back there," Joe told him. "And I know the drug ring a little well.. Actually, I've got the map with me..." He pulled out the backpack and put it on the table. "That's where it is," he said, pointing at it. "They probably took her back here." Another paper fell out of the file. Joe picked it up and studied it before flipping it to the other side.

"And here are the complete set of blueprints to the ring."

The man who had told him to hurry up looked at Braxley. "Well isn't this... convenient."

"Alison's involved. Are you surprised?"

Suddenly, someone else charged into the main area. "I need to see DELTA. NOW! GET ME THEM!" he yelled at the desk receptionist. It was loud enough to be heard by the guards. "Yes, now! One of my slaves has escaped!"

His yell was loud enough to be heard by the people in the other room. Braxley looked at the person who'd told Joe to hurry up. "Shane, why don't you find out what the nice man wants? I'm sure there's an open balcony you can hold him off of until he tells you."

Shane smirked. "Oh, my pleasure. Ashton, coming?" He glanced at the last member of the unit, and the two cheerfully departed. In the main area, the man was still raving. The two escorted him out, bringing him into another room.

"My slave escaped! Why are you hurting me? Go catch my slave, now!"

Ashton slammed the man's shoulder against the wall. "Does she happen to be tiny, with brown, shoulder-length hair? 'Cause that's my best friend's daughter."

"No! He's tall, white, and my slave! Go find him! I know that person, we just captured that bitch again. Right now, I'm looking for my other slave. He goes by the name of 'Tiger.'"

"I think," Shane said with a smirk, "that you forgot something very important. We're not police. And you just told us that we now have qualifications to attack your base. Thanks. We'll be sure to place you under arrest for slavery-"

"No, you can't attack my base! Slavery is legal, you're the idiots! And my base needs slaves, without it we couldn't run diamonds or smuggle drugs to help fund the war on terror!"

"Well, that didn't sound like you could fit much more in there that's going to let us attack him."

"You know that guy I'm talking about? We forced him to work unloading and loading trucks. We're sending out a shipment of car bombs and hand grenades today. I need my slave back, now! Why aren't you people listening?"

And that was the last thing he remembered for the next week.

"Looks like we've got a raid," Ashton said. "And there's several units who are pissed off and need to let off some steam. Let's go, shall we?"

* * *

Alex was pacing anxiously around the building. "I know the raid hasn't started yet. But I'm nervous."

"Wanna talk about it?" Tuna volunteered.

Alex shot him a scathing look that suggested he'd rather burn in hell, but dropped to the floor. "What if they don't find Wolf there? What if Wolf is dead? What if… What if… what happens then?"

_Thanks, unit. Leave me to deal with the traumatized kid. _Tuna sighed. "He's an SAS solider. He'll be okay. He's gotten out of worse."

"It's comforting to know that he has gone through worse things than being beaten, tortured, and made to be a slave by his same _unit members_ the past five months!" Alex said, exhausted. "He doesn't even know my real story!"

Tuna raised an eyebrow.

Alex dropped to the ground. "They tell you about me and MI6?"

"You mean how you trained for them and did two missions? Yeah."

"Well, I did more like eight. And I've been wanting to tell Wolf the whole time about this real story, but I can't. I mean, he's my brother. I should be able to tell him. But I can't because we're always under surveillance."

"Well, it's our goal to change that very soon," Tuna said in what he hoped was a comforting voice.

Alex snorted. "At least you don't make promises you can't keep."

* * *

"Team one to team two, ready?" Snake radioed to Bunny. Snake was on X-Unit's team with Markel, Salmon, and Penguin. Tuna had been volunteered to stay behind and watch the kids.

"Team two, ready," Bunny radioed back. They had spent hours last night planning this out from the blueprints Fox had somehow gotten to Snake. The blueprints erased any doubt in Snake's mind that Fox was bad. "Team two to team three, ready?"

"Ready," Aardvark from F-Unit said. He was their communications specialist. "Y-Unit is ready too."

The sergeant radioed back. "Ready. Let's bomb this place."

Snake groaned. "Roger one to roger two, we need the good guys alive. I repeat, we need the good guys alive." He'd been put in charge of the raid because he had the most information and had been the longest on the case.

_I can do this_, he thought. "Go!"

Snake began sweeping the hall, carrying his trusted weapon in front of him. His knifes were at his side. His bullet proof armor was on. "Remember, Markel, we're trying to take people alive."

"Got it."

It was then when someone rounded the corner. "Who the fuck are you?" they demanded angrily, their gun suddenly drawn.

"Drop your weapon, this is the SAS, British Air Force. We have a warrant!" Snake called."Drop your weapon and surrender!"

"If you don't know who I am, then you need to do more preparation before you come and attempt to raid us."

"Drop your weapon before we open fire!"

"I don't think so," he said, before he started to shoot at them.

"Congratulations, we can now charge you with attempted murder!" Snake shouted as he fired back, hitting the man in his arm. "Handcuff him, Markel." Because X-Unit was one of the units fresh out of selection, Snake was the team leader.

Markel moved over him and forced his hands behind his back. "I know this guy, Snake. This here's Steven. We saw him on the videotapes, remember? He hurt that kid, Cub, I think his slave name was." They had watched some of the footage Joe had of the time of Matt's house. Snake had shaken his head. There was no way Matt would ever be let off with the words not guilty.

"I didn't do anything wrong! I was helping them give the help that they needed, dammit! I was fucking helping them! Let me go! I wasn't hurting them at all!"

A gun fired in the distance.

"Let me go!" With that, Steven kicked Snake, causing the SAS soldier to fall backwards.

"Right, you were helping them," Snake muttered as he got up. Glancing at Markel he said, "Get him back to the station." Snake punched Steven in the nose resulting in blood to run down his face.

Another shot fired.

"Get off of him, you idiots! He didn't do anything wrong! Who the hell are you? Drop your weapons!"

"Who the hell are we?" Snake repeated, aiming his gun. "We're SAS, now who the hell are _you?"_

"I'm in charge of this ring. Drop your weapons." With that, two more men appeared, and three more shots were fired. Snake toppled down to the floor and Steven stood up, looking triumphant.

Snake side swiped his leg and made Steven fall to the ground as well. Holding a gun to his head, Snake said, "We're not doing anything, all of you are under arrest! So drop your guns or I put a bullet in Steven's head."

Steven ducked down and maneuvered away before he managed to wrap his arms around Snake's neck. Snake tried to fight back, but Steven was faster. "Drop your weapons, now," he demanded Salmon.

A shot was fired and Salmon went down before anyone had a chance to react. Markel fired, shooting someone else, but it didn't matter. He was clipped as well.

Suddenly, a white light filled the entire hallway with a loud bang. Multiple gunshots went off in the confusion of the flash bang, and more soldiers swept in from the opposite end that SAS had come. The new batch quickly sent bodies to the floor and survivors running, although the SAS just took the time to shoot at the fleeing bad guys.

"Wait!" Snake held up his hand for silence. "Who the hell is that?" he demanded, pointing to the people with guns.

"Who the hell are you?" One of the guys shot back. All of their guns were pointed at the SAS.

"We're SAS! Drop your weapons! I repeat, drop your weapons!"

"We're Delta! What are you doing here? And since we just rescued your asses, the hell we're dropping our weapons!"

"We're bailing our teammate out! What're you doing here, this isn't America!"

"This isn't England, so don't give me that shit!"

One of the other Delta guys stepped up, letting his weapon drop and relax into the sling around his shoulders that kept it there. He put his hands out between the two sides, more of a metaphysical barrier than anything. "Look, guys, SAS and Delta work together all the time. Let's not kill each other because we're all hot headed, okay? We're probably all here for the same reason."

Snake looked at his men and lowered his weapon. "Why are you here? We're looking for our teammate. And there are other people here too who need rescued, I'm told."

The rest of Delta turned their guns away from the SAS, and focused on doors nearby and anyone else who might be sneaking up on them. The guy who seemed to be in charge of the Delta stepped forward. "My daughter was taken and brought here. We were told by an escaped victim that the group was into illegal drugs and slaves, and we got permission to launch a raid. Look, let's just join forces here instead of fighting."

Snake shrugged. "Sounds good to me," he said, holding out his hands.

"What's your teammate look like?"

Snake flashed out the extra picture they had, and said, wincing, "Probably in worse shape than that. We're on Radio Frequency Two."

"Alright. If you take the west wing and the south bit, we'll get the east and north part. We'll contact you if we find him."

"Thanks. He's been made by the organization, so he may be bad off."

"Not to bring anyone down," Salmon piped up. "But what are the chances that Eagle is alive after all this time?"

Snake shot him a scathing look. "Because he's Eagle. Trust me, he'll be alive. And it's a search-and-rescue until I say otherwise. Are we fucking clear?"

The Delta units decided to stay out of that argument, and the guy in charge gestured, sending three of the units one direction. He turned to Snake. "Hey, in case we need to talk to the guy in charge for your part of the raid, who is it?"

"Snake, that's me. And who's in charge of your op?"

"We're not actually supposed to be out here, so it's me, Braxley. Let's go take these people out, then."

"Oh, and I assume you've heard about the large slave population? We were going to put them in the UK embassy until everything could be sorted out."

"I'm taking my daughter," Braxley firmly said immediately, almost before Snake finished.

"Absolutely," Snake said as he raised his hands. "SAS out."

The rest of the Delta went off down a different direction than the other half had gone to go take out that portion of the building. The units moved down as quickly as they could, not bothering for stealth. They went door to door, which wasn't hard because the doors were spaced out pretty far apart. A few gunshots would go off occasionally from one of the units, and the rest would stand by until everyone emerged safely. Slaves would run out curiously, and they would be ushered to a determined room where they were asking them to go to so they could find them later.

Finally, another opened a door and peeked out curiously at them. Braxley addressed him, tired of looking. "Do you know if there's an SAS man being held for interrogation here?"

The guy looked at him blankly, mouth hanging open for a few moments. "Uh..."

"He'd look like crap, and has been here for a while," Shane elaborated.

The poor guy stuttered, "I-I don't know, t-there was someone l-like that d-down there..." He gestured down the hallway and to the right.

"Alright, thanks," Braxley said, moving past with his unit. The unit medic in one of the groups with them calmly told the person to go to the determined room and wait for the sign that everything was clear. The man ran as fast as he could to the room while the units continued going on.

Braxley got to a door, and nodded at the rest of his unit. Shane and Ashton went to the opposite side of the door while Aarons stayed behind him. Shane kicked the door in, like they'd done with all the other rooms. The four swept in quickly. A man was laying on the floor, probably asleep. No one else was there. Braxley crouched down beside him, shaking her shoulder. "Hey, wake up. Are you with SAS?"

"Huh?" the man sleepily asked, blinking twice. "Go away. I've already told you I'm not telling you anything."

"I'm Delta. Your squadron's storming the place to look for you. Want to join the fun, or do you just want to go back to sleep?"

Eagle rolled over before pushing himself up, sending a kick the man's way. Braxley jumped backwards, standing up at the same time. "Hey, Snake told me to watch out for you. You know that guy?"

"Sorry... I didn't mean to bother you... Wait, what do you know about Snake? Leave him alone!" Eagle said, not having heard that this guy was Delta. Was this some trick of Steven's? He wouldn't put it past the man.

"...Prove you're Delta, dammit. I've seen one too many false law enforcement officers around here. And I'd love to start shooting some people, but what's the punishment?"

"...the _what_?"

Eagle sank back down to his chair. "I already told you I'm not telling you anything."

"...Well, you don't have to. Look, stay here if you want, but we've got people to shoot." He looked at the rest of his unit, but Ashton frowned.

"Wait, Eagle, how badly are you injured? If it's as bad as it looks, I'll see if I can patch you up before we go."

Shane snapped, "Hey, I don't like the idea of ditching one person just 'cause that idiot is too stupid to-"

The rest of his unit shot him glares, effectively cutting him off. Braxley nodded at Ashton, who moved towards Eagle. "How badly are you hurt?"

Eagle had to stop to think. "I've got a gash on my arm, it's deep; I've got a wound on my leg right here, and I've got two big cuts right here. Otherwise, I'm good. You guys are seriously legit cops?"

"No, we're not cops, we're soldiers," Ashton said, dropping down beside him, and pulling a wrapping from seemingly nowhere. "Arm."

Eagle obliged. "Why're you here? Delta's American. This is Afghanistan."

"Why does everyone keep saying that when our bases are right next to each other here?" Aarons asked Braxley, who shrugged.

Ashton replied to Eagle's question, "We're here because we _started_this war, hello? Do you know where a Alison Braxley is?"

Eagle winced as he flinched back. "N-no, I don't know. S-she might've gone with Matt and Ben, they were leaving today. I'm cold," he said.

"Step outside, and I'm sure you'll be fine. It's probably from blood loss," Ashton replied. He finished wrapping up the arm. "Alright, we better do the rest later when we've secured the place."

"Do you want to come shoot with us, or head back to do ground control with the room where we're sending the slaves to?" Braxley asked.

Eagle attempted to stand up, but fell back in his chair instead. "I want to go..." he said, looking at the gash Ashton had just cleaned, "but I'm not feeling a hundred percent. But shooting therapy sounds good..." He attempted to get up again before he leaned over and threw up. "I'll go," he responded suddenly.

Ashton frowned, starting to shoot down the idea. He was overridden by Shane handing him a gun, sealing the deal. Braxley said, "Let's go shoot bad guys, then."

Eagle nodded, but made it two footsteps out the room until he fell down. "I don't feel so good..." he said. He had no idea that he'd been drugged to stay cooperative.

Ashton looked at Shane. "This is your fault."

Shane shrugged. "All I did was give him a gun."

Braxley ignored the two, and helped take Eagle's weight. "Come on, we'll get you back to the room where we sent the slaves. You can do traffic control." One of the other units passed by. "Hey, is there any word from the other units? Tell SAS we got their guy."

* * *

Challenge: How is Eagle physically? Is he okay?

What happens next?

Will Wolf and Alison still be there for the SAS and Delta to find?

Enjoy! Next update will be on Tuesday, unless we hit 630 reviews before then! We love you all! Also all of the chapters are edited, so we'll be going back to our regular schedule. Only a few more left!


	37. Misery Loves Company

_A/N: Okay, sorry, I meant to respond to everyone yesterday but I didn't realize we'd hit that many reviews until AFTER I went to bed (was reading them on my tablet) and didn't want to get up to respond to everyone. First off a HUGE thanks to everyone who reviewed, and secondly thanks to Alyss Mainwaring who reviewed a lot of previously not-reviewed chapters to grant you an early update. _

* * *

Snake bounded over to Braxley. "You found Eagle? Where is he, is he okay? He's alive right?"

"He's over there," Braxley said, pointing. Snake started to move past him, but Braxley grabbed his arm. "Did anyone find my daughter?"

Snake hung his head and shook it. "No, and we haven't been able to find Wolf either. We heard reports that say - that say someone might've shot him."

"Matt did shoot him!" Steven jeered from where he was being held in handcuffs. "You're all too late. I knew SAS was in over their heads. Though my brother took Wolf, and that girl, Alison. I really hated her, she was mean."

"You bet your ass she was," Braxley snapped.

Behind him, Shane muttered to Aarons, "She makes everyone feel like that."

"You better tell us where they took the two of them right now before you find yourself buried alive in a grave because we find your loud and arrogant ass too inconvenient to take four miles to the embassy. If you want any chance of redemption from our pissed off soldiers and their interrogation tactics, I'd tell us now. Or it's not going to matter what you do."

"Hah! You're not soldiers, you're slaves! And Alison is a slave too! Just like Wolf is. Everyone is a slave!"

No one stopped Braxley from slugging him across the face.

"I hope your daughter dies," he responded. "She made a bad slave. She ruined our diamonds!"

Braxley leaned away from the man from where he'd been getting up in his face. To Snake, he asked, "Do any of you mind if we take a few liberties here? Because it has occurred to me that we may have forgotten to write down this guy's name when we were taking a note of everyone who had been captured."

"Hah! Everyone else has a slave name, so it's good that you didn't take down their names! They are not people!"

Snake shrugged. "I won't see anything and there are no cameras here."

"Slaves don't count." Steven turned around and started walking, despite the fact that he was in handcuffs. "I think you're an asshole, and that your daughter deserves to die, just like Wolf. Both were idiots."

Braxley grabbed his shoulder from behind and shoved him against the wall. He looked at Snake. "So. Who gets dibs on interrogating him first?"

Snake shrugged, "It could definitely be a team effort job, he just said that your daughter deserves to die, he's been holding Eagle as a slave, and he insulted Wolf."

"Yeah, but everyone says that about her at one time or another, and he's had two of your people."

Snake shrugged.

"Wolf deserves to die too," Steven said. "I thought I made that quite clear. Everyone here, except my brother and I, deserves to die. Do you understand that?"

"Well, that covers everyone else, too. How much visible bruising do you suppose we're allowed to leave?"

Steven sighed quite dramatically. "How am I going to make this clear to you? Eagle. Is. Dead."

"Snake, how many rounds in your fun do you have left? 'Cause I think he's asking for it, and he's asking you."

"By the way, Alison. I don't like her. She's mean. And I'm serious - she's dead and so is Eagle. Are we clear on that?"

"He did just ask me...well the real question is how much blood do you all want on your clothes?" Snake asked as he cracked his knuckles.

"You won't get anything out of me. I torture people like Wolf and Eagle. And Fridge, for a living."

Braxley's expression darkened suddenly. "Fuck this intimidation crap. I've had my daughter's blood on me too many times because of assholes like these guys." He pistol whipped the guy with the gun from his holster, knocking him onto the ground.

"Your daughter is worthless!"

That earned him a solid kick to the ribs.

"Fuck you!"

"I don't have the time for that, because I need to look for some people. Where did they take them?"

"Bādghīs! Why do you care though? They're dead you hear me, dead!"

Snake punched him in the cheek when he tried to stand up. "I hate liars."

"I told you the truth! Leave me alone! You'll all rot in hell!"

"Right alongside you," Braxley snapped. "Why did they take them to Bādghīs?"

"Because they're slaves and they can take them wherever they want, whenever they want! Get. Over. It. You're not her father anymore. We own her. Crystal? We own ALL OF You! ALL OF YOU!"

"He's going to an insane asylum," Braxley muttered. Then, louder, to Steven, he said, "Why did they go there? What's going on?"

"They took them there because they're slaves and they can do whatever they want with slaves!"

"Who is 'they'?"

"Not you! Look, what's your problem? They're there for a drug convention to advertise their latest drug. Got that?"

"And who all is there?"

"Your daughter and Wolf. They're slaves. Actually, though, you're forgetting she's not your daughter anymore, she's a slave. Kapeesh?"

"Still my daughter. I wanted to know who was there out of your guys."

"She's a slave, not your daughter. Uh, Matt, Ben, and a whole bunch of other slave owners. Why is that important to you? Don't bother chasing after your daughter or Wolf. They'll just be made a slave too."

Braxley looked at Snake. "What do you want to do with him? Any other questions?"

Snake sighed. "I have many questions. What'd you do to Eagle, for starters?"

"I think the better question is what didn't I do to Eagle. He was a pain in the ass, not giving any information up and he kept back talking so I punished him and left him to rot on the floor."

Snake wanted to strangle him, but took a deep breath instead. "How did you 'punish' him? Did you give him any drugs?" It would be useful to know to treat him later.

"Of course. We're running a drug smuggling operation here, what do you think?"

"...What type of drugs? What were they supposed to do?"

"The hell if I know. We attempted to give him Free Fly, but that was a disaster from the start. He started convulsing and pretty much died right there."

Snake leapt towards Steven, grabbing him and flinging him to the ground. "You bastard! What the hell are you, an idiot? What does Free Fly do?" He knew some of the side effects but wanted to know how they intended to use it on Eagle.

Steven looked up and ignored Snake. "We tried to give some to your daughter, too."

He snidely responded, "And I'll bet that went terribly for you."

"Actually, not as bad as Eagle's was."

Braxley snarled, about to move forward to hit him again. Snake got there first.

Snake kicked him. "What else did you do to Eagle? I need to know so I can treat him."

"What's there to tell? I doubt he's still alive with all the shit we did to him."

"Just give me an explanation before I pound you into the grave."

"Nothing too serious, just a few wounds and lacerations everywhere. Though he did lose a lot of blood."

"What about Wolf? What condition is he in? Where will we find him?"

"He's in the condition that Matt wants him in. You won't find him because their hiding from you, don't you get it? It's all one big game of cat and mouse, and in this scenario, Matt is the mouse, you are the cat. You're the stupidest cat I've ever met and will be forever searching for my brother."

"The cats always catch the mice," Braxley said from behind Snake. "It's their nature."

"And you are the stupidest _mouse_I've ever seen, because you can't understand how the analogy works."

"On the contrary. The mouse always wins. Have you never seen Tom and Jerry?"

"Aren't we in the middle of an interrogation?" Snake groaned, resisting the urge to strangle Steven.

"Clearly he doesn't understand that or he wouldn't be giving all the answers away to life."

"I keep telling you people that you can't win! Eagle is dead, Wolf is soon to be dead, Cub is dead, Monotaro is just messed up, and your daughter is dead as well," he told Braxley.

"I'd like to see you try to kill her," he shot back. "Besides, we know clearly that half of those people aren't dead, so why should we believe you with the rest?"

"Because I'm the boss of you all."

"In what universe?"

## break ##

"What happened?" Wolf demanded, springing off of his bed as Fridge was dragged in the room by Matt. The other slaves had all been taken away to do who-knows-what. "Are you okay? Hey, she's bleeding!" he told Matt.

This place was the furthest away from all the other locations and technically wasn't even considered part of the compound. Wolf had no way to know that there were burning embers in the distance from the slaver's compound and that his unit was onsite.

Alison flinched at the raised voice.

"Shut up!" Matt responded even as he tossed Fridge to the floor. He backhanded Wolf, causing the man to stumble backwards. "We'll be leaving in twenty minutes. Clear?"

With that the door was slammed shut. "Are you okay, Fridge?" he asked, rubbing his jaw. Matt's slap had been particularly brutal.

"Yeah. Joe's at the embassy," she said. At least they had that.

"Good," Wolf responded, hopeful for the first time since he'd been here. "What happened to your arm? It's bleeding. Let me get the first aid kit," he said as he walked over towards it.

"Well, they kind of hit me with their truck..." she said as she sunk to the ground.

Wolf snorted. "And you were yelling at me for not getting first aid for_ my_arm?" he asked as he took out the supplies. "How bad's it hurt?"

"I don't know, it's bleeding," she snapped irritably.

Rolling his eyes, Wolf sighed as he wrapped her arm. "What happened? How'd they find out so fast?"

"Hell if I know, but that truck was following us from the beginning even though we set the fire. Someone ratted on us."

"Fuck," Wolf muttered. A sudden thought hit him. "Wanna bet it's Flamingo?" he asked, finishing the final stitches on her arm. "Hey, you didn't get breakfast... did you?"

"Of course not. That would be normal."

Wolf reached into the backpack and handed her a protein bar. "I know it's not four-star quality, but at least it's something." He paused. "Your father _will_come rescue you, right?"

"It might take a little longer, 'cause they just had that fire, but it should be sometime soon. He'll come."

"Good. Now if I can just get someone to bail me out from that joyride..." Wolf muttered as he got up. "Hopefully Snake will come and get me."

She rolled her eyes. "I've got a lot more trust in a group of guys who are just waiting to blow something up after their base was attacked over some random group of police who barely have any information about this and who are not all on the same side. I'm just saying."

Wolf shot her a scathing look. "He's my teammate. You think I would just call a normal cop a snake? Although there are a few who I'd like to do that too..."

"And who'll he be leading to the rescue? One SAS guy is not going to take out this whole building full of people. SAS is having number trouble with their people, so it's not like he can lead a bunch of them in."

"Look, just be glad you have someone else coming for you, okay? My guy will get some people to bail me out eventually." Wolf pulled himself up and started to storm over to where the bathroom was. He paused. "Just make sure that you take the other slaves with you when you go. But arrest Flamingo."

"Can't we just beat him up? And do you go to the bathroom _all_the time? How small's your bladder?"

Wolf sighed and walked back over to his bed. "I'm glad that at least you're getting out of here."

"I'd prefer to get out with everyone else over just getting out alone."

"You probably will get everyone else out." Wolf yawned. He wasn't looking forward to meeting the big boss. "I wonder how much of a psychopath the big boss will be," he said, deliberately trying to change the subject.

"Let me know who he is so we can get him too," she replied.

"And how am I supposed to do that when they have me on a joyride a hundred miles away from here?" Wolf asked with a roll of his eyes. "Any ideas for how to escape once they've got me on the road?" It was something that had been stressing him out all morning. He knew that Snake would come raid the area, but he didn't know if Snake would be able to find him again or how much time he'd be able to spend looking. He checked the backpack one more time, finding it packed with plenty of food.

"Well..." she said slowly. "Do you know what vehicle you're leaving in?" She asked.

"I don't know," he responded, thinking about it. "Probably Ben's SUV, which will stand out like a sore thumb as it's been made in the UK. Why?" he asked. "Gonna come attempt to rescue me, or something? News flash, they're gonna pull me a thousand miles away once this raid is over, and you're probably not going to be able to find me - nor is anyone else."

"Sure, why not? It's not like we're absolute morons who can't find one person in the middle of an illegal slave and drug operation, 'cause it's not like that stands out or anything."

"Look," Wolf said, not wanting to put Alison through the drama of having to find him, "don't worry about me, I'll be fine, Ben will bail me out eventually... I'm sure."

"Yeah, yeah, just shut up and get rescued."

Wolf smirked before his grin faded. "Your father's not going to want to spend time rescuing me, though," he responded.

"You moron, don't you remember that your unit pulled us out of a terrorist building after we'd been there for almost an entire year?"

"...Yeah, but that was part of my job description."

"Would you just stop whining, damn it, and deal with it? There are still other units out there, besides the screwed up cops from your area who are willing to get us out of here, and they _will_ rescue every single slave because damn it, they're going to be pissed off. 'Every slave' includes _you_. If you don't want to get rescued and remain a slave forever, just say so."

"Of course I don't want to remain a slave forever! What do you think I am, stupid? But I also know your father's not going to out of his way to rescue me, and that's okay." Wolf rolled over on his bunk, attempting to ignore her. It probably would have helped if the last three times he'd been rescued hadn't been by fake cops.

She jumped off of her bed, and kicked him in the back to make him listen. "Are you a retarded ape or something? The hell my dad's leaving any slaves in here! You're coming with us!"

"Let it go Ali, your father can't save everyone!" Wolf responded as he pulled himself off the bed and out towards the outside. "I've got Ben, I'll be fine!"

"He's undercover, and him saving your ass is clearly working out just fine."

"Glad you got the memo." Wolf stormed outside, exhausted. He didn't want to get his hope up that her father was going to rescue him and have it all crash down on him. He came back after taking care of his business a few minutes later. "Look, the last three times I've been _rescued-_" he spat out the last word - "there's been a fake cop there who's dragged me back. And I just happen to get treated a little worse every time."

"I spent the first fifteen years of my life in households getting beaten or raped every day until he pulled me out. I was kidnapped again once, for two months, and he still came back. I don't know why, and I don't think I'll understand it ever. He will come to get me out, but his morals aren't going to let him leave anyone else to suffer here. And he sure as hell isn't going to let anyone take the victims back to this situation again."

"I guess," Wolf responded, clearly still unconvinced. "Thanks for the encouragement, though."

"That better not be sarcasm, or you're going to get kicked again."

Wolf grinned. "I need your faith under fire again." He smirked before considering something. "Do you think your father understands that I'm here, undercover, because of Six? Even if he rescues me, they may still have Ben take me back again. Just saying."

"Wolf, this operation is over. And by over, I mean you can see it on fire in the distance. They've got enough to arrest everybody for _years_, if not life in prison. As soon as they get the innocents out of the way, everyone involved is going to be arrested."

"...Just so long as I'm not included in that." Wolf smiled at her before something hit him. "But this isn't even your father's job. I mean, I'm sure that he'll be happy to blow up the compound here for a good workout. But it's not his job to come save me. I'll be fine. I've got Ben. Don't worry about me, okay?"

She hit him again. "It's their job to take out terrorist organizations, and if SAS can be dragged in, so can Delta. And they'd just be a bunch of assholes if they actually left the slaves behind after taking out everyone else. Now, he will come 'cause I'm here, so anyone here's going to get rescued." She wasn't actually sure if he was coming, but the rest of the squadron did owe her, so even if he was somewhere else in the country, there was a high chance they were still going to get rescued.

"Your father will come after you," Wolf said, seeing the flash in her face. "It's what fathers do. Don't try to tell me he's going to come all the way after me but he's not going to come after you. Look, if it makes you feel any better, I'll believe that he's coming after me if you believe he's coming after you. Kapeesh?" Wolf wasn't certain that they would take their time to track down just one slave, but he was willing to make her feel better. He hoped his tone of voice didn't give him away.

"Why do you think I wouldn't drag you along if he came?"

"Because I won't _be_here, remember? Ben's taking off with me this morning. I've got Ben and Snake to track me down too, so don't worry about me... if your father has a little bit of spare time and wants to look for me, that's fine, but don't stress about finding me. I'll get out."

"You've done a marvelous job of that."

"Hey, I've escaped three or four... five times so far," Wolf responded.

"Do you _want_me to hit you again? How long did it take you each time? You would've been in considerably better shape than you are now."

Wolf rolled his eyes. "Can't we just change the subject? Your father isn't going to care enough to come after me. It's not in his job description, and I have backup. _DROP it." _

"I don't think you've met the man, so don't insult him like that again."

"I did... I rescued him... remember..." Wolf responded. "But that doesn't mean he'll bail me out," he reminded her. "Don't get your hopes up about him chasing me down, Fridge."

"I'm not _hoping_, I know. You're basically talking to yourself here, moron. If you're handed an opportunity right now, you'll probably turn it down 'cause you're looking the other way. So shape up and start paying attention to what I'm saying." She whipped around and stomped back to her bed.

Wolf sighed. Great. He'd pissed her off. "Look, I'll be fine. Don't worry about me, okay?"

She sighed too. "Wolf, I worry about everyone, 'cause I don't worry about myself." She threw something from the backpack at him. "Now stop retorting to what I'm saying, 'cause I _know_I'm right, and I'd bet money that you can't prove me wrong."

"Okay, okay!" Wolf responded. "I'll believe what your father says for now, I guess... hey, did your dad teach you how to fight, or something? You took out Flamingo like he was nothing, and I'm pretty sure I recognize that kick from Delta."

In response, she got up and kicked him again to get him off the bed. "Yeah, some. That's for not believing me, by the way. My first parent taught me how to fight, too, but he wanted someone to continue running his little gang. Dad taught me how to fight _back_, really. Come on, you look like you need some refreshing courses."

Wolf shrugged. He may as well. Before letting her know what happened, he placed what he thought was a well-aimed kick her way. It probably was, but she dodged it easily and smacked him back with an open palm. "If it makes you feel better, you're used to fighting people your size."

"With a loaded weapon," Wolf added before picking up the backpack and flinging it at her, just to see how she'd respond. She grabbed it, and then tossed it right back at him.

"Good improvisation," she complimented. Two kicks followed that she blocked before Wolf was close enough to the bed to grab a pillow. He tossed it at her before doing a hand jab.

"Think your father will kill me if I break something?" Wolf teased.

"Let's see you try!" she shot back. She jabbed him lightly in the stomach. He took the pillow and threw it back in her face, just for the fun of it.

"Bet that hurt," he teased again.

"Do you guys do pillow fights often at Brecon Beacons?" She threw the pillow back at him. "Ever learned how to get someone away from you, or just how to beat them up?"

"How do you mean by that? Of course I've learned how to beat people up. Shit," Wolf muttered, "I bet they're coming back, soon. Just be prepared."

"We'll certainly weird them out. My point is, you're a lot weaker now physically because you don't have as much muscle, so I want to know if you know how to get someone off you if they attack."

"Are you calling me weak?" Wolf said, purposely bating her.

"Yes."

Two seconds later and she was on the floor. "What about now?"

She kicked him. "Yeah, still."

The door flung open. "Wolf, what the hell are you doing? Get off of her!" Matt demanded, stalking over to the two. He turned to Alison. "You," he seethed, "are coming with us. I can't believe you'd do something stupid, like _try to run away_. We've caught Wolf six times now, what makes you think you have a chance, little girl?"

" 'Cause I'm a ninja like that."

"Good God, Ben." Matt rubbed his head. "You'd better take the two of them with Steven, because I might shoot her if I have to stay with her, and I would prefer her alive. We need to get off of the property ASAP, the big boss is waiting." He glared back at her. "You're coming with us, or we'll kill him. Crystal?"

Wolf rolled his eyes. "Like you would kill me, you've had plenty of chances to try."

"He's just pissed because we lit his building on fire," she mock-whispered.

With that, Matt grabbed her arms and flung her towards the floor. "Get up, we have to go," he told her even as Wolf let himself be handcuffed, signaling to her that she should just go with it. "I said get up, dammit!" he responded, smacking Wolf.

She got her feet up underneath herself. Matt pointed his gun directly at her. "I said, _get up_before I'll shoot him. Get UP!" he said, kicking her leg. "We have to leave, now!"

"Actually," Wolf retorted, "that's not what you said."

"Get the car, Ben," Matt commanded. Ben nodded, and seconds later, pulled up to the door with an SUV. Fridge stood up, a few feet away from it. Matt leveled his gun at her. "Now, listen here, young lady. You try any stunts, we shoot him. He tries any stunts, we shoot you. Crystal?" with that, he grabbed her and pushed her back against the wall. Without any hesitation, and probably just from reflex, she immediately shoved him back, away from her.

"That won't do!" Matt responded. Two seconds later, a gun went off and Wolf toppled to the floor. "Gonna obey us now, huh, or should we hurt your friend some more?!"

She froze for a moment, glancing nervously at Wolf. She hesitantly started to move towards him.

"Get in the car before I shoot him again. I won't hesitate. You can patch him up when we get there. Crystal?" Matt demanded, his voice laced with hatred. "You _know_ I won't hesitate to shoot him! Do we need another demonstration? Steven, shoot him," he said. "Just put him out of his misery."

* * *

Challenges:

Where's Alex now?

Will they shoot Wolf and kill him?

Your goal is to get **700** reviews before the next update. Yes, that's high, but hear me on this. We're going to have a challenge; whoever leaves the most reviews will get a preview of the entire chapter (And I will attempt to give out sneak peaks!) I think that if you log out of your main account and log in as guest, you can review again. If you do this, make sure to leave your name. You don't have to, and I'm not telling you too; I'm just saying that's how you can leave more than one review. I think. I'm not sure. Anyway, have fun. The reviews for part of the challenge should be at least one sentence long for each chapter. I am in not really encouraging this, just saying it's done. Make sure to leave your names if you review as guest.

We'll be giving two sneak peaks - one to someone who leaves the longest most meaningful review for 36 and one for who goes back and post-dates the most reviews.

(There, that doesn't violate any TOS... right?)

If there is a tie we will give each person a preview of the chapter.

Ya'll rock - expect review replies tomorrow (thank yous for chapter 36). If not updated early will be updated Wednesday. Sneak peaks will be delivered as normal!


	38. Bam Bam, You're Fired At

She snapped, going to the car, "I'm going, already! Just leave him alone!"

Wolf was tossed in the car with her. The door slammed, and the car took off.

The car was like police cars, only instead of having a bar as a divider, it had an entire actual wall as a divider. The back seats had been ripped out. Wolf would have been impressed if he hadn't been in so much pain. "Sorry you had to come with," he told her. "Ug-get off my leg," he told her. "It's fine, we can give it medical attention when we get there."

"If you bleed to death, you can't get rescued."

"I'm not going to bleed to death from the leg wound," Wolf grunted, but responded, "there's first aid supplies in the backpack. Talk quiet, so Matt doesn't overhear."

She pulled out the backpack, looking for the first aid. "Wait-over there," Wolf said, pointing to the first aid kit. "I told you, he's an Snake scout."

"What?"

"Oh, sorry... Eagle Scout is like... head over boy scouts... It's an American thing, don't know how to explain it."

"...I see. Don't know much about it." She glanced at the window over his head. "I think Ben's the only person in this car. Matt and Steven just got into that one."

The car turned out of the parking lot harshly, knocking her down.

"Good. I could do with being away from the psychopath for a few hours."

"How long is it going to take for us to get there?"

"Not the foggiest." Wolf groaned. "Damn, I hate bullets getting cleaned out. Do you know anything about cleaning out bullet wounds, or am I going to have to give you a crash course in first aid?"

"I've cleaned out enough of my own," she responded as she got out the first aid kit.

* * *

"Let go of me!" Wolf demanded as Matt dragged him by his arm through the room. He dragged his feet, not wanting to cooperate with the man. "Who the heck do you think you are, you bastard? I hate you, I swear you're going down! Why are we even here?" He hadn't been able to see Alison, she had been taken away to another room. He had no idea what was going on.

"If I let go of you, then you will run away. I am your master, and you as the slave will do what I ask or say and not question it. So when I say that I don't want to tell you where we are, you're going to shut up, understood?" Matt said as he tightened his grip on Wolf's arm.

"I'm not your slave. I thought we had this covered on day one, and look, here we are, back to the same spot again."

"Actually if you want to be specific we found you in an alleyway, not a hotel room. So, no we are not back to the same spot."

"You are absolutely insane."

Matt raised his other hand and smacked Wolf in the back of the head. "What was that?"

"I said that you're a fucking awful person and I hope you die. Well, I guess I said it in a more condensed version, now I'm illustrating it so that you can understand it better," Wolf responded. He was tired of taking Matt's abuse. Actually, he was just tired in general of the shit.

The hotel room owner came out. "Here are your keys, one for room 111 A and 111 B located in the back. If you need anything don't hesitate to ring. Oh, and I shouldn't forget-we upgraded to soundproof rooms!"

Matt smirked and Wolf frowned, but before he could protest Matt was dragging him into the elevator where he hit the up button and leaned against the railing. "Now, once we get up there I have to show you something -"

"I would rather claw my eyes out." Wolf deadpanned.

"Oh, I'm sure you would enjoy watching this, after all it's about your brother."

"You sadistic-"

Matt turned and punched him in the gut. "That is no way to talk to someone of higher class."

"You just don't want me to talk at all do you? Well that is not an option. Where is everyone else? Can't handle me without your friends?" With that, they arrived at the hotel room. Wolf visibly swallowed.

"I can handle you perfectly fine, but if you insist..." Matt opened the door with the key the received, and inside were four other men, waiting on them.

"Good, some of you made it to safety," he said, flinging Wolf on the floor and closing the door.

"Fuck you all and I hope you burn in hell like the lot of bastards you are," Wolf said, furious of his ongoing maltreatment.

The man sighed and turned to Matt. "So, are we doing this shit, or just going to stand here the whole day and pass insults every minute?"

"We're doing it now," Matt said before he turned to the other men, "Get out."

As they filed out of the room, the man turned on the television, while Matt handcuffed Wolf to a chair. "Now, you're going to watch a movie. We're going to leave you in the quiet so your brain can process it. Don't go anywhere."

* * *

-movie-

_Alex appeared on the screen and instantly Wolf felt his hands clench. He knew something bad was going to happen. "Niles, run! It's Ben!" he screamed. _

_Niles turned around and sprinted away, only to run into Ben._

_"Where are you going?" Ben asked, dragging him back over to where Alex was._

_"Let him go, you bastard!"_

_"The only bastard is your father, you act exactly like him," Ben said as he grabbed his gun out of his waistband. _

No, Wolf thought, no, no, no, no, no, no -

_"What are you doing? Leave him alone, he didn't do anything to you!" Niles cried._

_"On the contrary he ruined about everyone's life. I just found that your DNA was a match to Wolf's? I always knew he was a dirtbag."_

_"Fuck you, it's not his fucking fault!" _

_"Why don't you just leave him alone!" Niles shouted at Ben._

_Ben shrugged, "Fine, if that's the way you want it to be..." Ben switched the safety off of his weapon and grabbed Alex, flinging him to the ground just before he shot him. Not waiting to watch him bleed out, he grabbed Niles roughly and dragged him away. _

_"Let me go! What did I ever do to you?" Niles sobbed, but Wolf was too obvious to care. He was straining his handcuffs, trying to see if Alex had gotten up from the ground, but the camera had blocked the view at this point. _

_"Jeez, what is up with you kids and ruining everything? You're related to me, and I don't like that one bit."_

_"And you think I do?" Niles said, before comprehending what was being said...him and Ben, were related? Like father and son, or brothers? "What?" he asked, confused._

_"You're related to me! You're my fucking half-brother on my father's side! How do you think that makes me feel to know that my brother is being forced to work for the ring? I had to kill Alex because he was too much of a bother, now I may have to kill you too!"_

_"But I don't want to die!" Niles wailed, before he started crying, overwhelmed with everything that had happened._

_"I guess you think Cub did, just another reason why you're a bratty idiot!" _

_"I-I'm sorry I don't mean too."_

_"How does that do me any good? Get in the damn car now!" _

Wolf couldn't tear his eyes away from the scene, fearing that Niles would die next. How could Ben kill Alex? How could he? Ben truly had gone dark side.

_"I said get in the fucking damn car before I castrate you!"_

_"What-What does castrate mean?" Niles asked._

_"How did I get to be related to such a fucking idiot? Get in the damn car!" _

What Wolf, Niles, and Alex couldn't have known was that Ben was trying to get Niles away and into a safe house before he had orders to shoot him too.

_"Get in!" He said, picking up the teenager's legs. Niles surprised him though, managing to buck him by surprise._

* * *

_PRESENT_

Niles ran with all his might down the block, not looking back when Ben threatened his life - multiple times. He wanted Alex back, but he was sure that if he went back there, he would be sick because Alex would be bleeding out, dead. Taking a breath, he didn't know where he would go next, not knowing many people, except the crazy people who had kidnapped him and Alex. The list diminished to five people. Snake, Wolf, Alex, Eagle, and the sergeant. Not knowing where Snake was, or Wolf...they were out. Alex was dead, and Snake and the sergeant were somewhere too

"Niles! Niles wait up!" he heard another voice say. "Niles, I need help!" It was then when he heard Ben's car pull and screech away. "We gotta get out of here!"

"What? Alex?" Niles turned around and saw Alex limping towards him before collapsing. Walking over to him cautiously, he looked down. "Are you a ghost?"

The sleeping figure stirred. Niles was suddenly reminded of his cell phone. Dialing the number he had last called, he put it up to his ear as it rang. Snake had gotten him a replacement when he'd heard his was stolen. Since Eagle was still in the hospital recovering, Niles had programmed Snake's number in to call if there was trouble.

He certainly thought this counted as trouble.

"Snake? I need help. I think Alex is a ghost...he looks really pale. I didn't know the number for Ghostbusters, so I called you instead."

"Okay, Niles. I want you to calm down and take a deep breath for me. What happened to make you think he's a ghost?" Snake asked.

"B-Ben shot him, and then ran off with me. But then he said I was related to him, that we were cousins/step-brothers? Which one I don't kn-know, it's not my f-f-fault! Right? But I don't want to be related -"

"Niles, take a deep breath. Please, we can deal with that later. Alex may need help right now." Snake left out that Alex would need help or he'd be an actual ghost and not in the way Niles was thinking. "Alex is still breathing right? Is he breathing fast or slow? How much blood has he lost?"

"I-I don't want to touch him. It might hurt him..." Niles trailed off his eyes locking on Alex's chest, which was moving really slow. "I-I don't think he's going to make it...Snake what do I do?!"

"Okay, Niles. Where are you? You're at the park, right?" Snake said, praying he was right. That was the last time he ever let the kids go out unattended again.

Clearly he had a lot to learn about this parenting stuff.

"Y-Yes, right next to it. Snake, you need to hurry."

"I'm on my way." Snake hung up and grabbed his car keys even as he dialed the number for the local hospital that ran the equivalent of ambulances. He called them and explained the situation before parking next to them.

Thank God for cars.

Snake felt for Alex's pulse, breathing a sigh of relief. He gently rolled the kid onto his back, breathing yet another sigh of relief when there were no bullet wounds. Ben must have been ordered to kill Alex but had chosen instead to fake Alex's death.

Thank God he was still good. That meant that they'd have to be more careful. "He'll be fine, Niles. I think he was just shot in the leg."

Alex groaned as he faded in and out. The EMT was holding a bandage over his hand. "How are you feeling?"

"Niles?" he asked, ignoring the EMT in favor of his friend. "Are you hurt?"

"N-No, but you are. I'm sorry Alex I didn't know what to do. But then I found out I'm a brother, and you were dead so I called Eagle, and he said you were okay..." Niles then whispered, "but I believe he was lying."

"It's not your fault, blame Matt and Ben," Alex said. He had been warned by Ben that he'd have to die-Ben would fake his death. At least he was alive. "And you are my brother Niles remember? Eagle has my custody right now," he lied. He was pretty sure that Eagle had said that because he wanted Niles to travel with. And besides with Wolf missing Eagle did have his custody.

"But...what?" he asked, confused as to how he could have two brothers. And in such a short notice too.

"No, you are my brother... Wait, nevermind, can we talk about this later?" he asked, glancing at the EMT. "...Hey, how much longer till we get to the hospital?"

"...Bout ten minutes." The EMT flashed a wicked grin. "Then we can give you your gift."

"What gift?"

"I want a gift too," Niles pouted.

Alex had a bad feeling in his gut. "...What do you mean?"

"Your guardian is dead boy. We're giving you his ashes."

"No! Wolf is NOT dead! FUCK YOU! FUCK YOU!"

"Alex, I remember Matt saying it's not polite to curse..." Niles mumbled, but Alex ignored him.

"My father is _not dead_! I refuse to believe your lies!"

"Cub, if you don't shut the fuck up I'll kill Monotaro are we clear?"

"His name is not Cub, it's Alex! You have no right...you...you-you person!" Niles yelled at the EMT man.

"Carl, can we give them anything?"

"Not until we get to the hospital," Carl called back. "You know what Matt's rules are."

"You should know better Monotaro, and for that Cub will be punished," Carl said as he moved towards Alex. He forced the teenage boy to sit up and cuffed his injured hands behind his back. "We are delivering you gift-wrapped back to Matt."

"Alex is not a present. He's not going anywhere, Matt wouldn't want the extra charge of having Alex shipped." Niles explained. He knew what he was doing - he was calm enough to think. He figured he may as well look stupid so that he could be plotting an easy way out. He winked at Alex before wincing as he leaned back against the wall of the ambulance.  
"So, he's going to live?" Niles asked, moving closer to him. "But, why didn't Ben wait until he was dead...or shoot more accurately. He fired at least three times before we left. Perhaps he needs lessons-"

"Niles, can I explain that later please?" Snake asked as he saw the squad arrive. "His brother is going with him, I'm following on the way to the hospital," he said to the EMT squad.

"Whose brother? I'm not his brother though."

"You're his adopted brother," Snake said, lying through his teeth. He didn't trust these guys for a second.

"Since whe-"

"Niles don't argue right now, just go with Alex. I will be there right behind you." Snake walked away, getting in his car and following the ambulance. He hoped everyone would be all right, and that Wolf would be located soon.

* * *

Alex groaned as he faded in and out. The EMT was holding a bandage over his hand. "How are you feeling?"

"Niles?" he asked, ignoring the EMT in favor of his friend. "Are you hurt?"

"N-No, but you are. I'm sorry Alex I didn't know what to do. But then I found out I'm a brother, and you were dead so I called Eagle, and he said you were okay..." Niles then whispered, "but I believe he was lying."

"It's not your fault, blame Matt and Ben," Alex said. He had been warned by Ben that he'd have to die-Ben would fake his death. At least he was alive. "And you are my brother Niles remember? Eagle has my custody right now," he lied. He was pretty sure that Eagle had said that because he wanted Niles to travel with. And besides with Wolf missing Eagle did have his custody.

"But...what?" he asked, confused as to how he could have two brothers. And in such a short notice too.

"No, you are my brother... Wait, nevermind, can we talk about this later?" he asked, glancing at the EMT. "...Hey, how much longer till we get to the hospital?"

"...Bout ten minutes." The EMT flashed a wicked grin. "Then we can give you your gift."

"What gift?"

"I want a gift too," Niles pouted.

Alex had a bad feeling in his gut. "...What do you mean?"

"Your guardian is dead boy. We're giving you his ashes."

"No! Wolf is NOT dead! FUCK YOU! FUCK YOU!"

"Alex, I remember Matt saying it's not polite to curse..." Niles mumbled, but Alex ignored him.

"My father is _not dead_! I refuse to believe your lies!"

"Cub, if you don't shut the fuck up I'll kill Monotaro are we clear?"

"His name is not Cub, it's Alex! You have no right...you...you-you person!" Niles yelled at the EMT man.

"Carl, can we give them anything?"

"Not until we get to the hospital," Carl called back. "You know what Matt's rules are."

"You should know better Monotaro, and for that Cub will be punished," Carl said as he moved towards Alex. He forced the teenage boy to sit up and cuffed his injured hands behind his back. "We are delivering you gift-wrapped back to Matt." Carl and the team did not know that Ben had been instructed to kill the two.

"Alex is not a present. He's not going anywhere, Matt wouldn't want the extra charge of having Alex shipped." Niles explained. He knew what he was doing - he was calm enough to think. He figured he may as well look stupid so that he could be plotting an easy way out. He winked at Alex before wincing as he leaned back against the wall of the ambulance.

"God, Carl, where did Matt _get_this kid?"

"From the back streets of America," Niles pointed out. "My mother always said we lived where nobody would want to go. I don't know why we lived there then…"

"I asked Carl, not you! Don't you know not to volunteer information when you're asked?! Put your hands behind your back."

"You asked the general area, and since I would be the only one to know the answer, I gave it to you. Helps shorten time on worthless questions that no one - Carl - knows the answer to," Niles said as he moved away from the man who looked pissed.

"Put your _damn fucking hands _behind your back before I strangle you, castrate you and donate your body to science!"

"What does strangle, and castrate mean again? I've asked twice today and people keep ignoring me. For your information, I love science, I had an A in it when I was still in school. So by all means, donate my body to science."

"Niles, just stop talking!" Alex groaned.

"Castrate means I'm going to cut off your private parts and throw them away so you can't reproduce," the man responded even as he reached for the drugs.

"Micah! Don't give them anything yet, it's against hospital operations and we can't fuck this thing up!"

"Shut up Carl, you think I give a fuck what these kids hear? It's not like the kids are going to say anything."

"Micah, don't make me castrate _your_penis."

"Like you have the _balls_to even try."

"What does castarate mean again?" Niles asked again.

"Niles, shut up before you get us both killed!"

"But, why would it get both of us killed...I thought they were going to strangle me, then castrate me?"

"Just shut up!"

"All right... don't get snappy," Niles muttered before finally shutting up.

Alex winked at Niles, trying not to let him get discouraged. One of the bad guys moved towards Niles with a pair of handcuffs.

"N-No please. I'll be better, I promise!" Niles said trying to back up, but having nowhere to go.

"Shut up!" The man responded, backhanding him viciously across the face. He grabbed him by the chin. "You'll listen, or your brother dies!"

"B-But I don't have a brother," Niles said as he flinched away.

Alex groaned. Loudly. "Micah, stop terrorizing the kid. It's me you want. You're angry at me, right?"

"Shut up or I kill him," Micah said, not taking his attention away from Niles. He pressed his knife against Nile's neck. "What's your _name_boy?"

"I-I don't know," Niles said, his mind freezing up.

"His name is Niles," Alex said, glaring defiantly at the man.

The man turned towards Alex. "I meant his slave name."

"We aren't slaves."

"Sure you aren't. Now, what is your slave name?" Micah demanded as he pressed the knife against Niles' neck harder.

"M-Monotaro," Niles whispered.

"Good boy," Micah said as he handcuffed him and ruffled his hair. "That wasn't so hard sweetie now was it?"

Niles flinched away and stared at the wall of the ambulance.

"How are we going to unload them without their person knowing?"

"Simple, we unload them at the dock and pretend they are patients. We check them out, have him come up too, and we trap all of them and deliver them to Matt."

"That will never work," Alex told them.

"And why is that? Don't forget we killed your father, sonny boy."

"Alex isn't your son," Niles said.

"Shut up, bitch. One more word and you're both dead. Got it?"

"I'm not a bitch...that's a female dog," Niles whispered, hoping Micah didn't hear him.

The rest of the ride was silent.

* * *

Challenge: What will happen now? Will the fact that Snake sent the Alex and Niles on the ambulance blow Ben's cover, or does it matter-has Ben gone darkside? What will happen to Wolf and Alison? Will the unit be able to catch up?

Thanks for your reviews. **690** grants another update early. Otherwise, thank you for reviewing and we'll grant your sneak peaks soon!


	39. Such A Short Time Ago

## break ##

Wolf came in and walked straight past Alison, not even acknowledging her with a hello. He dropped onto the bed and covered his head with the pillow. Matt entered the room and jeered at the two. "Your family members are all dead, so don't think you have rescue coming anytime soon-not that you would in the first place, you're both slaves. Are we clear?" he asked Alison, who was standing up.

Wolf responded by rolling over and ignoring Matt.

Matt stalked over to the bed, and flipped the mattress, effectively tossing Wolf to the floor. "I asked you a question. Do you understand?"

"Fuck off."

"What was that you just said?" Matt asked, stepping on Wolf's hand, not letting up when Wolf attempted to pull away.

"I said fuck off and get off of me!"

"I am tired of your shit." Matt pulled out a gun and aimed it at Wolf's head. "Now, I think it would be better to just get rid of you lot. Who the hell cares about the operation, if I don't kill you now, then I'll just take you for myself."

Alison attacked him from behind, grabbing his neck in a choke hold and dragging him off Wolf.

Matt swung back angrily, firing off the bullet. The door flew open and another man slammed the door shut, holding his gun out. "What the hell is going on here? Let him go before you find yourself buried in an early grave, slave!" With that, he fired, aiming for Wolf's arm.

He didn't miss. Wolf reached out, grabbing his arm in agony.

Alison jumped back, flinching in reaction to the guns. Matt used that time to grab her and throw her to the floor, sending her into the nearby bed. She got back up, looking between the two guys with guns and Wolf.

"Leave her alone!" Wolf said as he struggled to get up. He managed to pull himself to a sitting position.

"You're not going to kill us," she hissed angrily at the two guys. "You need labor. And if your labor's injured, we can't do anything. You better give him something to treat that with!"

"After we go over the rules, which in this case rule number one is that slaves cannot demand medical treatment from their owner or someone of higher power. If you do so you will not receive any treatment at all. Rule number two, this one goes to Fridge more so than Wolf, keep your mouth shut. If you touch me again, I will not hesitate to put a bullet in your skull or a knife in your throat. The last rule is for both of you, follow orders. Simple as that, a kindergartner could figure it - in fact Seal could follow directions - so I have faith that you two can also, follow rules. Understand?"

Wolf responded by grunting on the floor.

"Well, I'll tell you where you can stick your rules. Right up your ass!"

Matt walked over and slapped her in the face. "Do you want first aid for him, or not? Because I tell you I will be perfectly content to let him bleed out, or shoot him again!"

Wolf spoke up. "Leave the girl alone."

"Shut up, I wasn't talking to you," Matt said to Wolf, before turning back to Alison. "Now, do you want Wolf to bleed out, or are you going to stop speaking so he can get first aid? If you say no, then I will shoot you, and you both can bleed out together."

"Don't... just don't do that. Look, how about you just get him first aid and I'll shut up, alright?"

"Fine," Matt said, slamming the door. His companion, nervously looking at Alison, skirted around her as if he was afraid and ran out the door, slamming it and locking it behind.

"I think you scared them," Wolf said, attempting to sit up. "I'll be fine, the bullet wound isn't bleeding that much. Gimme one of those bed sheets," he ordered. "I'll be fine once I get this patched up, you shouldn't have told them I needed first aid."

"Do you want me to hit you again? Or should I just threaten to tell your medic? That might be worse, actually..."

Wolf sighed. "Do you even know which one's the medic?" he asked, fumbling through his pocket as he pulled out the picture Ben had managed to slip him last night. It was of the K-Unit at training base, long before Ben had departed. "Don't tear it," he said, handing it to her. "Remember any of these guys?"

"I was heavily drugged up most of the time, but I remember you guys briefly..."

"Anyway, as I was saying, if you hand me one of those sheets, it'll be fine."

"If you can't get it yourself, it's bad."

Wolf pushed himself up. "Not my fault I got shot twice in a row," he reminded her.

"But it is your fault that you keep pushing off medical attention!"

"I wouldn't need medical attention if you kept your mouth shut!" Wolf retorted. "You're almost as bad as Snake!"

She smacked him upside the head. "So says the person who was urging me on earlier to backtalk them as much as possible. And I'm worse than Snake, because I am bound by no rules. So fear me."

"My arm," Wolf said through gritted teeth, "is fine. And yes, I want you to back talk as much as possible. Just try not to get me shot in the process." He took the pillowcase off of the pillow and held it against his arm. The pillowcase was almost immediately stained red. "See? All I needed was a pillowcase," he said, lying to himself as much as to the girl. He knew he wasn't going to get first aid. "Although I could use some protein. And maybe a blood transfusion."

She looked at his army skeptically. "That's way too much blood for you to be alright." She paused for a moment, then muttered, "Sorry."

"Why are you sorry? You're right," Wolf responded, reaching up and ruffling her hair. He backed away as the door opened. Ben walked in and dropped down the first aid kit before reaching Alison. "I want you to know," he sneered, "that Matt and I are leaving in half an hour, you understand? We're leaving you here, in hopes that you'll be good. Now, I'll be locking the door, because I know that it can't be easily picked. There will be no staff here, either. The convention has finished. We're going out to lunch to celebrate our success. By the way, it's opposite day."

Ben checked his watch. "Wait, no, scratch that. We'll be leaving in an hour. Got that, sweetie? Or do you need more time to patch him up?"

She got to her feet, her expression saying exactly how much she was afraid of the man. She sent him a patronizing glare, not needing words to express her irritation. "You really just called me 'Sweetie'?"

"Yes, darling. Are you okay with that?" He dangled keys in front of her. "I bet you don't even know what these are."

"They're your stupid keys."

"Oh, the girl knows keys when she sees them. She's so smart, she can think at a first grade level, I feel so privileged." Ben waved them closer to Alison, almost hinting. "I bet you can't take them away from me, though, pumpkin pie."

A flash of realization went across her face, but was gone in an instant. She reached out with one leg, hooking it behind his knee and dragging him forward. The sudden motion caught him off guard and he fell forward, catching himself before he hit the ground. She snatched the keys out of his flailing hand, and moved forward and behind him. Another kick knocked out his other knee, but he didn't fall.

"You want these, little girl?" he moved his hand again, only to realize that they were gone. "Little girl, you stole my keys! Bad girl! Give them back!" With that, she was backhanded in the face. He lowered his voice. "Hit me hard enough to bruise. That way, when they see-"

She punched him across the face, not letting him finish. His head rocked back, and it was definitely going to bruise. She smirked, and he knew he'd had that coming.

"...face, and if they ask about Wolf's keys, I can say you took them, but that I wasn't worried because you couldn't leave the room."

Wolf chortled from behind her, finally realizing that the room wasn't bugged.

"...You know, you hit pretty well... for a girl." He flashed a wallet at her before ruffling her hair. "But you won't need this to escape."

"You moron, if the room's not bugged, just give me the damn wallet." She put her hands on her hips, glaring at him.

"No, no, that would be too easy," Ben responded. He lowered his voice before he tossed it over to Wolf. Wolf caught it, but had to let go of the bandage to do so. "Look, we'll be gone soon. Just make sure to take him with you when you go. Matt seems a little too trigger-happy. Oh, and be warned, the rest of the walls - not the four surrounding here, but everywhere else-has bugs. You need to get straight back to the embassy."

He reached into his own bag and tossed Alison a purse. "That has everything you need, but don't use the phone until you're two miles or more away. Matt has a trace on all phones within that range. Now, if you'll excuse me, I'm going to try and finish my mission in... a very brutal nature." He flashed her a smile before opening the door and slamming it.

They could hear it locking behind them. Wolf was the first to speak up. "Do you think he wants us to escape, or something?" he snorted. "What's in the purse? We'll look like the perfect couple out on holiday."

She rolled her eyes. "Yeah, a twenty-something year old and a teenager out in the middle of a war-torn country for a lovely day on the beach."

"As I was saying... Hmm, you'd think you wouldn't react well to me calling you 'honey' or something."

"Are you asking for it?"

"Nah, but Ben was. What's in the purse?" he demanded.

She shrugged, glancing into it. "Uh, some more money, first aid stuff... there's a gun and some extra ammunition, but we'd better not use it too much. And the phone."

Wolf winced. "Of course, Matt would shoot my right arm. Do you know how to shoot?" he knew he could, even when injured - he'd done it all his life and it had become an instinct. He just wanted to know that Alison could when the time called for it.

"Yeah, Harkinson taught me. I'd say I'm a pretty good shot, considering that I was trained by a Delta operative on their training grounds."

"As long as you know how to point and shoot. Better put it back before we have another surprise visitor. Ouch. Okay, I guess I need first aid on this arm. At least a little gauze would be beneficial."  
She tossed him some gauze from the bag. "At least we know your friend's not lost his mind. Do you think you'll all get along, even after all this is done?"

Wolf thought about that as he caught it. "As long as we all get really good therapy. I might need a little help with this. Don't want it to bleed out because I let go."

Alison crouched down beside him, helping with the wound. The two were silent for a few minutes before Wolf spoke up. "Are you going to be okay after all this is done?" he asked.

She shrugged. "I've been through similar stuff before. This time I know someone's waiting for me back home. I mean, I'm no stranger to abuse, so it's not... as bad as it could be. But it's different this time. I'm fine now, and I'll continue to be."

"That's good to know... sweetie," Wolf teased. He yawned. "Okay, I think I'm going to nap. Wake me up in exactly half an hour."

## Half an hour later ##

Alison shook him awake. "Half an hour."

"Time to go," Wolf responded. He frowned. "I'm hitting the restroom, and you'd better too. We won't exactly be able to stop in the middle." With that, he disappeared. Seconds later he came out again. "Your turn."

After both of them had finished, Wolf turned to the pack. He winced as he put on his backpack, not used to moving his arm with a bullet in it. "Ready for this?" he asked as he moved towards the door.

"Let's get going."

Wolf nodded and moved his hand towards the door, pausing to listen for voices. When he had none, he moved to pick the door - except that the door was already unlocked. He shook his head before quickly grabbing Alison back into the room.

"What the hell was that for?!" she demanded.

"Did you or did you not see Matt?" he hissed.

"...No?"

"Well, he was out there." He paused again before saying, "Wait a minute." The two waited for what felt like a half an hour, but really was only five minutes. Wolf listened at the door again. "Look, we should be okay. We're going to go out the servant's exit, which would be in the back. We may have to run."

"You already know I can handle it," she responded. "And if we get separated?"

"Go to the embassy, stop for nobody. Except for your father. And maybe his team."

"Hey, I trust his unit about half as much as I trust him, but that's still saying something!"

Wolf just shook his head and opened the door. When he saw nobody, he started to walk down the hall. Alison started to pick up the pace, but he held out his hand to stop her. "Just look like you know where you're going. If anyone asks, Ben told us to do something," he explained.

"...Right," she responded.

"Just trust me."

"Right. ...You don't mind if I trust my father's unit over you, right?"

"As long as that wasn't an insult," he teased her. "I mean, come on, you've known me for what... three days, maybe four?" with that, the two slipped out the door.

The street was covered with mud, as if it had just rained. "Watch out for the guys with guns," Wolf whispered in her ear.

"Wonder what's going on there," she muttered back.

"As long as they aren't looking for us, I don't care," he said. "Behind here!" he quickly grabbed her arm and pulled her behind the building. "That scared the shit out of me, what about you? I don't think Matt's cronies could have gathered so quickly, though."

"I didn't think they were smart enough to handle guns without shooting each other or themselves."

"Oh, I'm just hoping that Matt shoots himself one day. Then again, that wouldn't allow me the fun... quiet!" he said.

"I thought I heard him from over here," the other man said. "He sounded so familiar... like that voice recording..." Wolf hadn't personally met Mouse, so wouldn't know he was a friendly. He pressed his hand over Alison' lips tightly.

"What are you talking about? I don't hear anything, you're seeing things," Snake told Mouse.  
Wolf released Alison from her hold. "Over here, stupid!" he hissed.

Snake raised an eyebrow and cautiously brought his gun up, "Who's there? Come out with your hands up!"

"It's me!" Wolf hissed as he moved, holding up his hands. "Are you going to let your trigger-happy hands down now?"

"Wolf?" Snake paused, getting a good look at him. "Oh my god. It is Wolf."

* * *

A/N: I would like to SINCERELY apologize for the chapter shortness & lack of sneak and peaks. Writer With Sprite, who usually posts, has joined the workforce and has been away from home for training for the past few days. She wanted to give out the sneak peaks yesterday, but was simply unable to do so. As a result, however, anyone who reviews 100 words will get a sneak peak half-CHAPTER & the ability to write a challenge! I know one person has a chapter reserved to be able to see in advance-I'll p.m. you separately about it.

Thanks so much for all your patience.

Here is the deal.

Update will be on WEDNESDAY unless we get 690 reviews. Half-chapter peaks & sneak peaks will be given out the day before. If you don't want a sneak peak half chapter, that's fine too. Thanks so much for your patience! We love reading your reviews!

Challenges:

How is Eagle?

Where are Alex & Niles?

What will happen now?


	40. Guilt Time

"Snake! What the fuck are you doing here?" Wolf said, breathing a sigh of relief as he embraced his comrade, guns and all. "I was beginning to think we'd have to drag your sorry ass over there!"

"Woah, you dragging ass out of here? I wasn't the one being tortured, in fact I found another group to help save your sorry ass," Snake huffed. "Who's your girlfriend, Wolf?"

"What the hell?!" she snapped.

"I think you just gave her free reign to attack you, Snake. Or to charge you with... uh... whatever' it's called... you know. I'll explain once we're someplace safe. Speaking of which, U, just don't beat him up until we're at the embassy, okay?"

Mouse looked at Snake for instructions.

"Lead the other team to the hotel just in case anything there. I'm taking these guys back to the embassy." Snake turned to them. "How far away were you guys being held from here?"

"Not even a mile."

"Hiding in plain sight."

"Can we go kill something?" Alison demanded.

"Not now, our first priority is escaping," Wolf responded. "Clear?"

"I want to kill something. Where's Matt? He'd be great for target practice."

"Alison, we're in enemy territory. You're a civilian. We can work on your anger management later, but right now, we've got to get to the embassy. Then we'll work on a plan to kill Matt. Clear? Don't you want to see your father?"

"Well, I'm going to see him no matter what, so killing Matt now would make more sense instead of going and then coming right back."

"...We don't have time. We don't even know where he is. We have to go. Look, I need treatment for my arm, okay?" Wolf said, trying to distract her. "Look, Snake 'inherited' a car," he said, using quotation marks. "Let's go and focus on a plan to kill Matt later, okay? I want to kill Matt too, but we've been handed a 'get out of jail free card' that I don't want to waste."

She gestured at Snake and the guys behind him. "We are standing next to a bunch of SAS units! What dumbass would try to take us back? Other than Matt, who? And we're trying to kill that dude!"

Wolf sighed. "The bunch of SAS units are going to raid the place. I want to kill Matt too, but we need to go. I want to kill Matt just as much as you, if not more, but I know there's a time and a place for everything - a lesson you haven't learned yet, apparently. Let's go, or I'm going to have to deck you." He thought for a moment. "Hey, Ulysses. Remember all those times you told me that when escape came up, I'd look a blind eye at it because I wasn't going to see it? Well, now's our opportunity, and you're doing the same thing. Besides, wouldn't it be more fun to put Matt on trial and make him suffer for years in prison? Let's get in the car! Besides, the SAS units kinda... took off..."

A random gunshot fired. "Fuck, get in the car!" Wolf said, grabbing her by the arm and practically throwing her in. Snake launched himself into the driver's seat. "Sorry, but we have to flee." Wolf checked out the guy behind him. "Why is the nimrod shooting at us? He's not one of Matt's men, he's got a shirt on advertising another gang!"

"I don't know, but I'm going to have to lose him. Hang on!"

Wolf groaned. "Can you tell me that sometime when I don't have a bullet in my arm?"

"Fuck, how'd you get shot?" Snake said, trying to look back.

Mouse whacked him. "You fucking moron, we'll treat him at the base! Get back there!"

"Please pay attention to where you're driving. After seeing my dad's unit drive, I'm suspicious of any Special Forces with a car."

"Actually, this isn't our car," Mouse said as he looked over towards her. Snake hastily swerved to avoid yet another bullet, and ended up in the wrong lane, headed away from the embassy. "Hey Snake, I wonder if that guy's pissed because you stole his car."

"Hey, we had to borrow some car!"

"...You think they're bad drivers?" Wolf nodded to U as Snake took yet another wrong turn. "Eagle's worse."

"I'm not getting in the car with him, then," she deadpanned as Snake hit the curb and then came back onto the road. "Good God," she yelled up front, "do you want me to come up there and drive?"

"Do you even have a driver's license?" Snake shot back.

""I think she insulted you, Snake!" Mouse yelled back. "You should do something about that!"

"For fuck's sake, I'm driving!"

"Why is everyone yelling at each other in a tiny car?" Alison shouted.

Mouse turned around and responded with a perfectly straight face, "to annoy you! Speaking of which, who the hell are you? Because I doubt you're Wolf's girlfriend. You're not his type."

"...It's a long story. Although I'll bet you're annoying me just because Delta does their job better than you guys do," she muttered under her breath.

Mouse rolled his eyes. "Hey, I'm fresh out of selection, don't blame me."

"And you might not make it back to training if you keep this shit up," Snake muttered. "Fuck, hold on!" With that, he turned the car with a gigantic swerve. "I think I'm going the right way now. What -hey, kid, is Wolf passed out? Like legit, because fuck-"

"Focus on the road!" Mouse yelled at him, smacking him upside the head,"Or I drive!"

"No, he's just sleeping," Alison snapped, "and don't call me kid!" She leaned over, putting more pressure on his wounds.

"What should we call you, then? Girl? Thing from outer space?" Mouse asked even as he unbuckled his seatbelt. "We're about a mile from the embassy. How hurt is he? What happened?"

"He got shot. Twice. One in the arm and one in the leg."

"Why the hell did they do that too him? If he's injured, he can't work for them. What are they, stupid?"

"We disobeyed orders."

"Oh, now there's a surprise..." Mouse muttered, sighing as he climbed over the backseat. "He's too damn stubborn for his own good. What do you mean, 'we'? I'm sure it was him."

She paused, not responding for a moment. "Actually... I think it was my fault both times." The last sentence was full of guilt.

"Hey," Mouse said, stopping his work on Wolf's arm. "It was not your fault, you understand me? Unless... I don't suppose you picked up the gun and shot him?"

"No."

"Then will you please explain to me how it's your fault, because I'm failing to see the connection here?"

"Matt told us that if we disobeyed one of his orders, he'd hurt the other person. I disobeyed once, and he was shot in the leg, and then I attacked him later, and he was shot in the arm. I didn't pull the trigger, but it's still my fault."

"Hey, hey," Mouse said. "Take a deep breath, kid. He's trained for this sort of thing, he'll be fine. Okay, answer me this, then: did he tell you to cooperate, and obey Matt?" He was extremely glad he'd specialized his psychology degree in dealing with children and teenagers; he'd needed it for this case. "Because I'm guessing from what little I know about him that's not what he said."

She frowned, not liking how he was turning her words against her. "Well, it's not like he's always had the best ideas for self-preservation in mind, has he?" she snapped irritably. "I'm used to be punished for what I do; not someone else being punished."

Mouse sighed as he adjusted Wolf's bandages. "Who did this work?" he asked, suddenly changing the subject as Snake veered away. "Hey, why are we going away from the embassy?"

"Guns! Explain later, keep talking! I think the Godzilla who owned this car put bulletproof glass on it!"

Shaking his head, Mouse turned back to her. "Who patched him up?" he asked.

"Both of us."

"Okay, who made him get patched up?"

"...I did. Don't turn this against me - it's still my fault he got shot, even if I did make him sit still to patch it up."

Mouse paused mid-wrap, thinking again. "And... if you had to go back, please explain to me what you'd do differently?"

"Not open my loud, arrogant mouth."

"Matt could've still found another reason to shoot him. I don't know if you've noticed or not, but Matt's a criminal thick and through. He's a psychopath and looks for reasons to hurt people for absolutely no reason. Does the name Seal sound familiar?"

"A little. Why are we still talking about this?"

"Because you feel guilty for something that I don't believe you should feel guilty for. Anyway, Seal is also known as Eagle, Wolf's team-mate. Monotaro, another slave, was held captive by Matt. Eagle went undercover in the ring and adopted the kid. Matt kidnapped him and tortured him once he found out he was SAS and blackmailed him. The first thing we heard out of Eagle when he woke up was that he was sorry Matt caused us so much trouble. Now, does it sound like getting kidnapped for helping out the kid was Eagle's fault?"

She looked at him warily, as if it were a trick question. "...No? But he didn't know it was going to happen!"

"Okay, did you know that Wolf was going to get shot when you opened your mouth?"

"Yes."

"Okay, I'm going to need you to explain how this is your fault. Okay, you said something you shouldn't have, even if we were going with the assumption of that, how does that make his getting shot your fault? Or are you saying Matt was right to shoot him because you opened your mouth...is that what you're telling me?"

She scowled at him. "Matt's an asshole, but he's also insane. So at that point, it was up to me to make the right choice, and I didn't. I'm sorry your teammate got hurt because of it."

"How old are you?" Mouse asked as Snake pulled the car to a stop, totally changing the subject.

"Sixteen."

"Okay. And you, at sixteen, were supposed to understand how much of a villain Matt was? I've been trying to understand for two weeks now and I still don't understand how much he is a villain."

"Stay here, you two," Snake said, bounding out of the car as he ran out the embassy doors. "We need a fucking stretcher!"  
Mouse rolled his eyes and turned back to her. "So let me summarize this. You, at sixteen, are supposed to know everything. In fact, you're supposed to know the future. So much so that you're supposed to know that if you don't do exactly as Matt says, he's going to shoot Wolf. You're supposed to be good and cooperative, and if you just do everything right, everything will be okay. Is that how you're feeling?"

"No, I feel like I've been in this situation so many times that I should be reacting better."

"You've been in situations like this before?" Mouse asked. He continued to hold the pressure on Wolf's arm. "Kid, I hate to break it to you, but I'm trained SAS. I've been in firefights, gunshots - hell, I've been hostage six times now. I still piss off the wrong people. Okay, answer me this: What would have happened if you hadn't back talked?"

"He would've left and Wolf wouldn't have been shot."

"Did it ever occur to you that Matt just wanted someone to shoot and decided to make you feel guilty for him shooting Wolf? Do you really want him to get away with making you feel guilty for the rest of your life?"

"Yeah, but he would've taken it out on me if I hadn't done what he specifically told us not to do."

"And that makes it okay?!" Mouse said as he ran his hand through his hair. Snake came back with a stretcher. "Help me load Wolf. This talk is not finished," he added. "And kid, I'm letting you know: you don't deserve to be hurt. Nobody does. Okay, wait. Question. So if Wolf mouthed off, and you got shot, would you be blaming him?"

"Well, I would've been mouthing off right beside him, so they probably would've shot me just to get me to shut up."

They loaded Wolf to the stretcher, and Snake and someone else jumped off to another room. "We'll find you after we get him stabilized. I need someone who's got type O blood, stat! And kid, this is worse than it looks, you hear me? And it's not your fault either!" with that, he and three other people raced to another room.

"Do you think he would have been okay with that?" Mouse asked. "Wait, wait. Answer me this... Did Wolf tell you this was your fault?"

"Well, he was saying it wasn't too bad and I called him out on it. He said something about it not being his fault he was shot twice, and that he wouldn't have needed medical attention if I'd kept my mouth shut."

_I'm going to fucking shoot you and leave your body in a casket, Wolf,_ Mouse thought to himself. "Hey, well we're talking, is there someone you want to call? And was it right after he got shot that he said that?" He whipped out his cell phone and offered it to her.

"It was a little while after when I was trying to convince him to get patched up." She waved off the phone. "I don't know what number to call him by, although he should be in the area, actually. I'm sure my father would like to know I got kidnapped... again."

"Hey," Mouse said, touching her gently on the shoulder. "If it was right when he got patched up, did it ever occur to you that the only reason Wolf said that is so that he could avoid getting patched up?"

"That was dumb of him. But is there a way I could contact the Delta headquarters to get a message to my dad?"

"...Delta?" Mouse asked. "Uhm... They're... American? I fell asleep in the class where they talked about who served what country..."

She gave him a look. "Really? I mean, really? They do the same thing you do, for America."

Mouse sighed. "Google is your friend..." With a few clicks, he got on the phone - until the door flew open. "Who are you?" he demanded, turning his gun on the man.

Braxley gave him a level look that would have made a lesser man cry. Alison smirked, having seen that look many a time before. Then he looked at her, worry filtering into his expression. "You know, when I'm not surprised that you got into a situation in which two counter-terrorism organizations get involved, and illegal operations such as drug and slave running is being done... that's a bad sign."

She shrugged. "I'm getting used to it."

"Who the hell are you, and why are you lecturing her?" Mouse demanded as he narrowed his eyes. "I've just spent the last 45 minutes telling her... never mind, you can tell him, I don't want to break your confidentiality."

She waved it off. "Another of my stupid mistakes. And he gets to lecture me because he just does such a darn fine job of it."  
Braxley nodded slightly. "I'd ask if you were alright, but you'd lie."

"Of course."

"So are you okay?"

"Yes."

"So no, then."

"No, you're not," Mouse said with a shake of his head. "Not unless you're lying about the entire forty-five minute talk earlier...are you related to her? Because then I can break confidentiality...sorta..."

'Well, I would've had to have been ten when I had sex to actually spawn her, but she is my adopted child," Braxley responded coolly.

"Alison, why do you keep irritating everyone?"

"It's just so easy to do. I don't even know what this guy's irritated about." She gestured at Mouse.

Mouse sighed. "Do you want to move into a private room, or talk here?" he asked. "I'm going to have to take your statement on everything that happened while you were abducted, not just this, and it'll be awhile. But I think we should deal with this issue first." He glanced at the door that was open a few feet away from them. "Like... there." They made their way in, and Mouse closed the door. "Okay, considering I haven't even gotten your name yet, how about we start with that? Then, should we talk about what I've been trying to convince you isn't your fault for the past 45 minutes? Because Wolf getting shot twice is not your fault. You didn't pull the trigger."

"Not this conversation again," Braxley sighed.

"Alison Braxley," she answered Mouse, ignoring Braxley's sigh of discontent.

Mouse glanced up at Braxely. "You've had this conversation before? I've been having it with her for the past 45 minutes. Your turn now, please. Basically, the guy in charge of the operation, Matt, shot the guy she was being held prisoner with twice 'because she said something'," he said, using quotation marks. He spoke up again. "She's trying to convince me it was her fault, but I'm not buying it. Unfortunately, she's not listening to me. Or understanding me."

Braxely glanced at Alison, not seeming to have heard that she was blaming herself. "Oh? What'd you say?"

She shrugged. "Talked back."

"That's my girl. Hey, is Matt dead yet?"

"No."

"We're working on that as we speak," Mouse said, attempting to redirect the topic. "I'd just feel better walking out of here if I knew she didn't blame herself for my co-worker getting shot, because it's not her fault."

There was a knock on the door. Mouse rolled his eyes and walked over towards it.

Snake appeared. "Wolf is awake. He's asking for an Alison? Do we know a Alison? He says her name might also be Fridge. He seems a little out of it still... but I was thinking maybe she was who - we picked up?" he asked.

Mouse glanced back at the girl. "Are you Alison/Fridge? Never mind, I know you are. Fridge? Why is he saying her name is Fridge? How drugged was he when you found him?"

"We're running the blood tests now; hell if I know. Anyway, he wants to see her if she wants to see him."

"Sure," she replied.

" 'Fridge'?" Braxley asked.

She shrugged. "Yeah. They gave everyone slave names. Bet you can tell where that one came from."

"You ate more than one meal a week?" Mouse guessed.

"No, I ate more like thirty or forty. I burn more calories than regular people do. It's a long story.""

Mouse just shook his head and followed Snake down the hall. "Go ahead. If he starts yelling, let me know and I'll beat him up."

"Hey," Wolf said as he attempted to lift his head. "Good. You made it out okay. I had a nightmare where someone was set on fire."  
"Was it Matt?" She asked, leaning against the wall.

"Unfortunately, no. Who's the tough guy behind you?" Wolf asked. He looked at her again, clearly reading her face. "It's not your fault, Alison."

She shrugged again, but this one was forced. "I think that's my decision." She glanced at Braxely. "You two know each other, actually."

Braxley nodded at Wolf. "It's been a while." He looked at his daughter. "Okay, so you're saying - may I say in advance that I'm not taking sides - that you're to blame for Wolf getting shot?" As three people began talking at the same time, he continued, "Hold on, I'm not done. You think you're to blame. Yes?"

"Yes."

"Okay. And they don't."

"Right."

"Okay. And what are you going to do about it?"'

"...Beat up Matt?"

"Now that's not a bad idea, and I'll have to ask to join you on that expedition."

Mouse frowned heavily, and growled at Braxley, "Your parenting skills are shit." Harkinson started to speak. "Total, complete, absolute elephant shit."

"At least Haine isn't the one using vulgar language this time," he muttered to Ulysses. "So, you're going to go kill Matt or beat him up or whatever?"

"Yeah."

"Because he shot Wolf."

"Yeah."

"Because it was his fault."

"Yeah." Pause. "Wait."

"Because it was Matt's fault."

"Now hold on a minute, you're twisting my words!"

"No, I'm just saying you're going after Matt because it was he shot Wolf, and unless somebody else had him at gunpoint, it was his fault."  
She glared at him. He smirked.

Mouse raised an eyebrow. "Do you object with that, Wolf?"

"Nope. I totally agree. Matt's fault. Alison, why would you blame yourself after I told you not too?!"

"Because you told me it was my fault, and I knew it!"

"When the fuck did I tell you it was your fault?"

"When I was trying to get you to let me patch it up, and you said you wouldn't need medical attention if I hadn't opened my mouth!"

"Woah, woah, what the hell did you say?" Braxley turned on Wolf.

"Well, apparently I said that I wouldn't need medical attention if she hadn't gotten me shot... When did I say that though?" he asked her, not remembering saying that.

"Right before Ben came in and gave us the keys and wallet and stuff."

"I actually said that?"

"No, I'm just making stuff up to screw with your head. Yes."

"Fuck, kid," Wolf started to say, and was about to say 'I'm sorry,' but Braxley cut him off.

"You told her it was someone else's fault that someone shot you?!" the Delta unit leader yelled at the SAS unit leader. "What kind of a dumb-ass idea was that?!"

Alison rubbed her head, sighing as the argument ensued. If one had watched carefully, she flinched slightly the second Harkinson's voice raised.

"I'd been drugged up to my fucking eyeballs! You can't seriously hold me accountable for what I was saying! I was about to tell her I was sorry, but you interrupted that! Look, Ali," Wolf said, turning towards her, "It was not your fault. Doesn't it sound better to blame Matt rather than to blame yourself? I'm sitting here, right now, telling you that my getting shot WAS. NOT. YOUR. FAULT. You didn't fire the gun. Sure, you spoke up. If you hadn't, I would have. I'd rather be shot than have you go through getting shot." He looked at her, his eyes serious.  
"I think you all need to take a college class on logic," Alison said as she looked at all of them.

More than half the room groaned.

"Okay, you try. I want you to explain to me how my getting shot is your fault - without using what I said when I was drugged up to my eyeballs as an excuse." Wolf grinned at her.

"He laid it out perfectly clearly that if I said something out of turn - he specifically pointed me out, remember? - he would shoot you. So I said something out of turn, and you got shot, and then I attacked him later."

"You attacked him later?" Wolf asked. "Why the hell are you feeling guilty about that? He deserved it!"

"Well, it would've been better if I'd actually taken him out," she pointed out.

Braxely sighed. "So this all sums down to Wolf's lack of ability to dodge bullets."

"Well, apparently that, and my big mouth."

"Who pulled the trigger?"

"Not this aga-"

"Who pulled the trigger?"

"...Matt."

"Who got shot?"

"Wolf."

"So, by grammatical laws, Matt shot Wolf."

"Yes."

"So unless you jumped in front of the gun and pulled the trigger, it's Matt's fault that he shot Wolf. Had he delivered empty threats before that he never fulfilled?"

She thought about it. "A few times..."

"So then you had reason to doubt he would this time, too," Wolf spoke up. At her glare, he sighed. "Well, am I right?"

"...Fine."

"I won't make you say I'm right." Wolf grinned at her and then his grin faded. "Remind me how I know your dad again? I may have been a little out of it." He actually remembered some of the conversation but didn't know how much her father remembered. "And are you still mad at me?" he asked. "Because I'm sorry your daughter got separated from the rest of the group."

"No," Braxley deadpanned. "Have you met her? I'd like to see you convince her to do something she doesn't want to do. And we met shortly after Haine slammed the door in your face when you were trying to rescue us from a terrorist group about six years ago. If you start blaming yourself too, I'm going to hit something. Or someone."

Alison muttered under her breath, "I vote Matt."

"...I'm sorry for what I said to your daughter," Wolf said, tone completely guilty. He looked and felt exhausted. He glanced at Ulysses. "Don't blame yourself, okay?" He glanced up at her father and winced. "Just don't tell him I stole your dinner."

"You just told him yourself! And we more or less threw it at you." She glanced at Braxley. "It wasn't his fault."

"Why does everyone think I'm going to be mad at Wolf?" he mused to no one in particular.

"Your daughter gave me her meal instead of eating it like I told her too. Twice. And she blamed herself for getting shot. And I told her something I didn't mean..."

Mouse hit himself on the head. "I'll be back. I have to go take a smoke before I kill someone."

"You don't smoke!" Wolf called after him as he shut the door.

Braxely looked at Alison, where she was staring absently at the ceiling. "Hungry?"

"Famished."

"Go get something to eat," he prodded. "Do you know where to go?"

"My stomach will tell me where to go." She smiled briefly, before heading out of the room. The door closed behind her as well, leaving Wolf and Braxley alone.

"Like I said, I'm sorry," Wolf said.

Harkinson shook his head. "You don't have anything to be sorry for. Don't worry about it."

"Clearly I do, otherwise she wouldn't have been upset like that."

He was given a look. "I'll bet she was thinking that even before you said anything. She wasn't upset, ether. She was just telling you what she thought was right. She kept arguing because she's headstrong like that. Don't beat yourself up over it."

Wolf sighed. "As long as you aren't pissed that she gave up her food for me... She seemed to think you would come after me, too. You've got a stubborn kid."

Braxley smiled. "Yeah. I don't deserve to have a daughter like her. She'll tell you different, but she hasn't had the best examples in her life."

"So you're not mad at me then." Wolf raised an eyebrow. He wasn't sure where he was going with this. It just felt like his mind was stuck on the same damn subject, and until he firmly believed Braxley wasn't mad at him he wouldn't go to sleep.

"I'm not mad."

"Yes, you are. I can see it in your body stance."

"I'm mad at the people who kidnapped her," he growled back. "She's been beaten and raped - not even before she was a teenager, for God's sake - and she finally got to put it all behind her. Then someone does this to her?" He shook his head in disgust. "I'm just glad she was strong enough to pull through."

"See, you're mad," Wolf responded with a sigh. "Like I said, I sorry that she got involved. And you're clearly mad at me, you're yelling at me now, not at her. I understand. She did nothing wrong, I did. I took a teenager's food, for God's sake. I led her into the line of fire. You have every reason to be mad at me."

"Do you want me to be mad at you? You didn't take her food; sounds like she forced you into eating it. I yelled at you instead of her because I can't yell at her. She... She trusts me not to abuse her, and she's been in too many households were yelling was followed by abuse. So, since I have to act calm around her, even when I most certainly am not," - his voice had dropped back down into a growl again - "I have to keep up appearances for her sake, and you just happened to be a convenient victim for me to yell at. I'm the one who should be sorry."

"Why the hell are you sorry? Clearly, I'm the one to blame here. And I'm not a victim."

Braxley stared at him for ten long seconds, trying to figure out if he was being serious. "You were kidnapped and attacked on a day-to-day basis. What about that does not make you a victim?"

"It's in my job description. And yours, if I remember correctly."

"When I was reading the paperwork, I never saw anything about it being necessary that we be held hostage and be kept away from our families for months." He paused. "Do you have family?"

"A brother, who the ring threatened me with for months on end... and then killed. By the ring. I mean, I've got Snake... but I think Eagle died too. That's my fault as well."

Braxley grimaced. "That's where this is coming from, isn't it?" He frowned. "Eagle?"

"Where what is coming from? And yes... he was a member of my unit, he was made by the organization, and they shot him after torturing him for information."

Braxley looked at him seriously. "Well, then... Your friend's a zombie. Because my unit pulled him out of the building when we raided the place."

Wolf winced. "Another thing to chalk up on the list that's my fault. How... how bad off is he..."

"He's badly off, but he was hurt because he was SAS. It literally had nothing to do with you. I wouldn't be surprised if I could go get him and he could walk in here on his own."

"See, he was hurt because he was on my team," Wolf told Braxley. "And another member of my team went darkside," he added, not remembering Ben dangling the keys in front of Alison to get them to escape. "That probably has my name on it as well."

"No, he was hurt because he was on someone's team. Didn't have to be you. Want me to go get him and have him tell you it's not your fault?"

* * *

So so sorry for not updating on Wednesday! Writer With Sprite, who normally updates, was really sick after work and couldn't do it. She's back to normal now with profound apologies. Only two to three more chapters to go; thank you to our loyal readers! Please review if you can.

Challenges:

What will happen when Wolf realizes that Alex is, in fact, alive?

What will happen when Eagle shows up?

Will Eagle be able to get ahold of the Mountain Dew in the embassy, even though he's on morphine?

Enjoy! I look forward to your reviews. Next update on Sunday. Sneak peaks Saturday. Writer With Sprite has her own laptop so it should fly pretty smoothly this time.


	41. Super Caffinated Eagle Man

_A/N: So sorry for the long delay! Writer With Sprite, who usually posts and edits, has joined the working world and is trying to pack for a move on top of all of her other schedules. She would like to apologize for the wait, and thank you for your patience. The next chapter will be out on Thursday. _

* * *

"Sure, but he'll tell you it is my fault," Wolf responded even as he rolled over and buried his head with the pillow. He felt absolutely sick to his stomach. He had no idea that his drugs that morning had been dosed with a pill specifically designed to make someone lethargic and depressed so he couldn't run away as easily.

Braxley called a number, and had Eagle paged. "If I can't convince you, maybe he can. Thanks for helping Alison. I know she's not really my daughter... but I can't begin to tell you how much she means to me."

"How did I help her? She helped me... Made sure I ate, cared for my wound, helped me escape... I was drugged the whole time."

"But it helped her to have someone _to _help. And besides, she wouldn't have gotten out if the SAS hadn't been around to help, and they were there because of you."

"I guess..." Wolf said as the door cracked open. "Eagle?"

"You called, Braxley man?" Eagle asked as he looked at him. "You paged me! Over the speaker! It was a cool experience! Everyone stared." He turned towards Wolf. "And you're alive, you're not a zombie! Good! I'm glad!"

Wolf stared. "Good Lord, he had sugar, didn't he?"

"They have an unlimited mountain dew thingie! It's really cool! Braxley man, you showed it to me! Remember? By the way, Wolf," Eagle said, tone growing slightly more serious, "I don't know why I got called down here, but you look guilty. You didn't do nothing wrong, man. See, if I hadn't been captured, I wouldn't have been allowed access to unlimited caffeine reflis. Right, Braxley man?"

" 'Braxley man'?" he muttered under his breath, confused.

"It's my nickname for you, man!"

Wolf felt compassion for the man. "Translation: Hi, my name is Eagle, and I've been allowed caffeine for the first time in two months." He turned to Eagle. "His code name is 'Stingray," he lied.

"Not Braxley man."

"Your codename is Stingray? That's so cool! I didn't know Delta got code names!"

"Since we're working with SAS on this one, and some guy is having fun making stuff up," Braxley explained, going along with it for the sake of his dignity.

"Ahhhhh," Eagle said, as if he were all-knowing. Then he was back again. "Hey, Wolf-man? How come Snake-man told me not to combine Mountain Dew with morphine?"

Wolf looked at Braxley. "It was your great idea to bring him in. So, you're not mad at me, then?"  
"Why would he be mad at you, Wolf-man? I'm not mad at you either. The only reason why I'm not mad at Stingray-man is because he's allowing me unlimited access to the caffeine."

"When did I allow you unlimited access to caffeine?" Braxley demanded. "And just call me  
Braxley! Nothing else!"

"When you showed me where the mountain dew thing was," Eagle explained, as if that had all the logic in the world. "And why call you Braxley when I could call you Braxley-man? It's much more fun."

"Word of advice," Wolf responded, looking much more refreshed with Eagle there, "Don't let him have sugar on morphine. Ever." He then changed the subject. "Eagle, where do they have Alex's body?"

"I don't know where they have Alex's body," Eagle said. "Only Alex knows that. He's wandering the halls somewhere."

Braxley frowned, looking at Wolf. "I thought you said he was dead."

"I _did _say he was dead."

"But why would you do that? He's not dead," Eagle said. "Stingray-man, Wolf can come up with some weird theories sometimes-"

"For the love of God, and my sanity, please don't call me that again," Braxley finally snapped.

"Okay, Braxley-man... I don't know why Wolf-Man is saying that Alex is dead."

"I am going to strangle you!"

"Please don't. I'm only trying to help. I saw Alex sitting at the table eating dinner."

"Don't make it worse," Wolf snapped. "I saw the video with him dead."

"Where is he?" Braxley asked. "If he's not dead, I'll go get him and bring him here."

Eagle frowned. "Wolf-man, you really think Alex is dead? But why? I told you he wasn't."

"I think the morphine is hurting his logic; could you explain to him in clearer terms?" Wolf asked Braxley. "I can't think that he's alive and then be crushed all over again."

Braxley sighed. "Look, Snake's off all drugs. I'll go find him and get him to explain what's really going on." He left the room, leaving the two by themselves.

Eagle sobered up. "Wolf, I'm sorry that you got hurt. It's all my fault."

"And what exactly would you have done differently?"

"Not let you get hurt."

"How, when, and where? Were you supposed to keep me from getting kidnapped by Matt? You did the best you could. It's not your fault. These bullet wounds have Matt's name on them. Not yours."

"Yeah, but-"

"Should I blame myself for you being tortured?"

"No, but-"

"Then you can't blame yourself for me being tortured."

"You make everything too simple, Wolf-Man."

"Don't make me smack you, super-caffeinated-Eagle-Man."

* * *

"They named you Fridge," Alex said, blinking twice in disbelief.

"Yeah... See, my stomach would growl so loudly they gave up trying to starve me and fed me more than everyone else got. I eat more than people regularly do," she explained. "Of course it meant they couldn't starve me as punishment, so they would just beat me instead." Under her breath, she muttered, "Although it's not like that went well."

Niles glanced at her. "You look... Like I know you from somewhere."

"I think we may have met before... What's your name, outside of the slave business? I think you were called Monotaro back then..."

"Niles," he said with a smirk. "Niles Martin. Or... Hey Alex, what's Eagle's last name?"

Alex frowned. "I don't know. Where is he, anyway?"

"I think someone finally chased him away from the mountain dew machine," Niles said.  
"Oh God, he got sugar? But he's already on morphine!"

"Why is that a bad thing? You know Dad likes Mountain Dew."

Braxley entered, heading towards Alison. He nodded at the others, and then asked her, "Do you know where Snake is? I'm trying to find someone..."

"Not a clue." She glanced at the other two. "But they might know where the person is."  
He looked over at them. "Do you know if there's an Alex somewhere around here?"

"Yes, he is somewhere around here," Niles spoke up. "Why do you ask?"

"Niles!" Alex said, whacking his friend lightly on the head. "Just say I'm right here!"

"Okay, sorry. Yes, Alex is sitting next to me. He's not in trouble, is he?"

"No... If you don't mind, your brother doesn't believe you're alive right now. You might want to fix that before Eagle has to strangle him to make him believe him."

Alex's mouth dropped open to an 'o'. "Wolf is... he's okay? Like, not hurt? Because Matt told me he was dead!"

Braxley's expression fell into one of disbelief and pity for himself at having to deal with this. "...Just come with me and we'll sort this out. If the rest of you want to come too, that's fine."

"I'm going to make sure you don't hurt Alex," Niles said. "How far are we going? This place is really cool."

"I'm not going to hurt anyone unless they're part of the drug ring." He muttered, "Or Eagle, if he keeps calling me Braxley-man."

Alison spluttered with laughter, and he shot her a half-hearted glare. "He's calling you _what_?"

She glanced at the others. "I think he said our family members were dead to make us feel like there was no one else for us to come home to. I heard others who were told that too. I guess we all got suckered into it." She glanced at Braxley. "He tried to convince me you were dead, too."

Braxley put a comforting hand on her shoulder for a moment before dropping it back down to his side. He led the group to the hospital room where Wolf and Eagle were still at. He pushed open the door, letting the rest in.

"Ohhh! Niles! You're here! And look, a girl! I think I recognize you! Alex, good! See, he's not a ghost!"

"Alex?" Wolf asked.

"DAD!" Alex yelled, launching himself into his brother and embracing him with a hug before breaking down into tears of pure joy.

Eagle turned to Alison. "I think I saw you once... They called you a fridge... But I don't know why, you're skinny."

Niles smacked himself on the head. "Note to self: Never give Dad morphine and mountain dew at the same time. Ever. Again."

"So, why do they call you Fridge? And is that really your name? Because I can't call you fridge-man; you're a woman... So should I call you fridge-woman?"

She hit him. "No, my name's Alison. And don't call me Alison-woman."

"So... should I call you... Alison-man?"

Niles spoke up, getting in front of Alison. "Dad. She said to call her Alison."

"Niles-man, Alison doesn't have quite the same ring to it as Alison-man does," Eagle said. "Don't you agree?"

"To never give you sugar again? Yes. Hey, Alison, wanna help me wind him down?"  
She hit him again. And then once more.

"Braxley-man! Alison-man hit me!"

Braxley whacked him again.

"Wolf-man! Braxley man hit me!"

"Nobody blames him, Eagle!" Wolf said. "Niles, you're more mature than your father. Anyone ever tell you that lately?"

"What's 'mature?'"

"So what happened?" Wolf asked Alex, trying to ignore Eagle's banter.

"I thought you were dead, that's what Matt said anyway."

"Well, Matt clearly lied. I watched a video of Ben shooting you-"

"He had to too keep his cover, he warned me beforehand. He shot me in the leg. Barely. I didn't even need stitches. See?" Alex asked, pulling up his pant leg. "I just had to drop down and play dead. I'm sorry for scaring you."

"It's okay. I'm sorry I haven't been there recently."

"It's okay," Alex said. "I've missed you."

"I've missed you too."

"Hey," Niles spoke up, "What's mature? And Dad, why are you adding 'man' to every sentence? I think I need a nap, do you want a nap?"

"I think he needs some common sense about shutting up before he gets hit again," Alison muttered.  
Niles glanced warily at her before the door opened. Butterfly stepped in. "Supper's ready. And, uh, I'm told to tell this room specifically that the mountain dew drink has been disconnected."

Niles turned from the door and stared at her. "What's your name?" he asked softly, something hitting him full-force.

She looked at him, confused. "They called me Butterfly, but it's actually Natalie Martin."

"Your last name is Martin too," Niles said, almost as if he was in a trance. The room grew quiet. Even Eagle was quiet. He was also the first to speak up.

"Ohhhh," Eagle said, "Your last name is Martin. Should I now pronounce you husband and wife?"

"DAD!" Niles said. He turned towards Natalie. "Did you used to have a mother who lived in France?"

"Yes, but-"

"Did she used to do drugs?"

"Yes, but-"

"Did you used to have a younger brother named Niles?"  
She stared at him.

"Did she sell you for d-d-rug money?" Niles stuttered.

"What are you waiting for? Ask her out already," Eagle said.

"Eagle, shut up!" Alex and Niles said in unison. Niles turned towards Natalie. "I think you're my s-sister. I was born in France, had a mother who sold me for drugs, and had an older sister named Natalie," he said, pulling out his identification card and showing it to her.

"I..." she began, looking confused. "C-Can't it be a coincidence?" She looked at Eagle. "Wait, you said he was your father!"

"He adopted me," Niles explained. "Because I d-don't know where mom is." He grew silent. "And I don't want to live with her again. Do you?"

She shook her head numbly. After an awkward moment, she embraced Niles. Niles awkwardly hugged her back, too.

"And now," Eagle said, completely serious, "You may now kiss the bride."

Alex buried his face in his hands. "Niles, I wish you luck. If you want my help strangling him later, it'll be fine."

Alison and Alex both smacked Eagle in unison.

"Ow!" Eagle complained before turning to Brittany. "So wait, you're his sister..." he let his voice trail

off, and his tone became completely serious. "Do you have any family?" he asked.

"N-no..." she said.

"Now you do," Eagle told her.

She smiled shyly.

"Unfortunately," Alex said, "that means that not only do you get your brother back, you also get his father, me, my father and brother, anyone else in the unit - well, maybe not Ben, we're not sure what's going on with that guy but at least he didn't kill me -, and the sergeant. And some others too. Good luck. You need it."

Wolf grunted. "Hey, at least someone turned off the Mountain Dew. Hey, are there crutches here? I'm not lying down for dinner. Alison, did you tell them to get me crutches?"

"No, because I'm not a considerate person," she replied, leaving the room.

"Braxley? What about you, can you get me some crutches?"

"That's what she's going to do."

"But I thought she wasn't going to get me crutches."

"She said she didn't tell anyone to get you crutches, but since you mentioned it, that's what she's doing now. Have patience."

"Oh," Wolf said. Sure enough, Alison was back two seconds later. Wolf loaded himself on to the crutches after Alex had moved out of the way of a near-miss. "See, Alison? I'm taking medical assistance."

"Yeah, yeah."

* * *

- one day later -

Brittany stood beside Niles, leaning on his shoulder. She was also walking on crutches, because Snake had pointed out that her leg had been broken a long time ago but had never healed correctly.

They'd had to re-break the leg and reset it, and now she was on crutches again. She just joked that now she was like Wolf.  
Wolf seemed to be recovering more quickly than Brittany, even though Snake wasn't letting him off the crutches for any reason whatsoever - "not even when we're under gunfire!" Snake had added -, and he was healing.

## break ##

Today Alison and Braxley were saying goodbye and going back to America for some much needed Rest and Relaxation. Braxley had been granted a few weeks off by Delta. "So, are you ready to eat more than one meal a day?" Wolf asked Alison as he ruffled her hair. The two were waiting by the door.

Brittany and Niles were nearby. Brittany gave up standing, and slid onto the nearby chair. "Or are you going to force it down my throat again?" he teased.

"I don't know, do you want me to?" she teased back. "Thanks for everything."

"You're welcome. So, do you still feel like it's your fault that I got shot? Or are you content to blame Matt now?"

"It seems like we just blame Matt for everything, so why the hell not?"

"So, you going to keep in touch?" Natalie asked. "Eagle got me a cell phone, like Niles'."

"Yeah," Niles spoke up, "only hers is pink." He made a face.

Alex grinned. "Yours is hot red."

"Yours is orange," Niles told him, "I'll take hot red, thanks."

"I couldn't figure out the regular phone, so Braxley and I just decided to screw it," Alison said.  
"So is that a yes or a no?" Brittany asked. "Because Eagle let me get unlimited texting, and I can sort of text."

"'Sort of text' is right," Niles agreed. "Last night, she tried to text me that there was a wife in the house. She meant that she was getting wireless internet on her cell phone. You may have to attempt to decode some messages."

"I'm even worse than that," Alison replied. "Well, I think we're going. I've got to get back before a friend of mine eats everything, so..."

Alex shrugged. "Buy even more food, then. What's got you so worried about that? Can't they run themselves out to the store?"

She gives a bit of a nervous chuckle. "No... She's not exactly got the appetite for store bought foods..."

"Hmm," Wolf responded, "Got any nice male friends that you're going back too?"

"What, are you propositioning something?" she teased, although she flushed slightly.

"I think I'm a bit old for you. Actually, guess my age," Wolf said suddenly, a grin in his face. "No hints, Alex."

Alex smacked him.

"...Twenty-eight?"

"Twenty-seven," Wolf smiled.

"Dad, you're twenty-six. Because you said you would have been ten when you had me, and I'm... fifteen..." Alex said, "Wait..."

Wolf sighed. "I don't even have my ID card to verify my age... Drats..." he ruffled Alex's hair. "Alex is correct, I'm 26."

"I've heard it both ways, but are you his brother or father?" Alison asked.

Alex glanced at his brother and smirked.

"Well, my DNA matches me to him at 75%. Does that help?" Wolf asked, baiting her.  
"Brothers."

"Good girl, you figured it out."

"Then why's he calling you 'Dad'?"

* * *

Challenges: So finally the bad guys are defeated and they're home free...or are they?


End file.
